


beyond the stars (ad infinitum)

by moonfleur



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Aliens, Alternate Universe - Space, Enemies to Lovers, Gen, M/M, Mild Language, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Plotty, Science Fiction, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Space Racer, not on earth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:35:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 55,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25235557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonfleur/pseuds/moonfleur
Summary: Kwon Soonyoung is the youngest racer in centuries to make it the finals of the Dune Races but he loses the win by a mere fraction of a second. Determined to win, Soonyoung agrees to a transaction that sets Lee Jihoon, Commander General of the Imperial Astartian Army, on his tail.━━━━━━Or, the one where Soonyoung is a space racer who makes bad decisions and Jihoon is the alien general after him.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo & Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Jihoon | Woozi
Comments: 78
Kudos: 63
Collections: You Made My Summer Fest





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Writing this has been a real, _real_ , labour of love for me and it has challenged me to write a whole new genre and, I think, even a whole new style of writing. It is also one of the few fics I have really enjoyed writing, and I hold this universe and the characters so close to my heart, so I hope you'll love it as much as I do.
> 
> Thank you so much, in advance, for reading this 🌸
> 
>  **Posting Schedule Update:** This will now be updated monthly because of _things_ but also because I want whoever is reading this to have time to catch up to chapters they might not have been able to read :)
> 
>  **Fanart:** The loveliest artist [@puku2pang_](https://twitter.com/puku2pang_) has done up a piece for this fic! I think she captured them perfectly ♥︎ Check it out [here](https://twitter.com/moonfleur_/status/1320184754507952128?s=20)!

It is hot, so incredibly hot in this tin can of a room Soonyoung likes to call his workshop, the heat radiating in waves through the puffs of smoke that rise from the air vents that line the room. So, maybe he’d taken over an unused boiler room on one of the Lower Levels, but aside from the heat and the humidity, it is more than what he could have hoped for. Pipes criss-cross overhead, some of them rushing with water or some other liquid, others thrum with the energy they generate from the planet's core to power their giant city. Music blares from the holo screen he had installed in the far wall, nothing specific, just a random music station he’d chosen for the day. He looks around at the space he had taken and made his own over the last few years. He calls it a large oven, but he knows he lucked out as far as unused boiler rooms go, especially when it comes to unused boiler rooms that have a direct access shaft to the surface large enough for him to fly his racer into. 

There is another groan from the pipes below him and a large cloud of steam billows up from the grates, which makes Soonyoung decide to call it quits for the day. He sighs, removing the face shield he has on and clicking his blowtorch off. There is a loud clang from where he half drops it on the wing of his racer, the sound echoing in the empty chamber, and a head pops out from below the body, face red and glistening with sweat and the humidity in the air.

“Already giving up?” He calls out and Soonyoung doesn’t need to look at him to know that he’s grinning.

Soonyoung groans, sinking to the floor as he pushes his sweat-slick hair out of his eyes. “We’ve been at this for hours, Woo.” Jeon Wonwoo, his best friend — probably his only friend at this point if he’s being honest with himself — and co-engineer. Or, basically, the only other person he trusts to work on his racer other than himself. “How are you not exhausted yet?”

Wonwoo snorts, diving back under the body of his racer. “Because I actually spend the rest of my free time training with my division instead of lounging around all day, stuffing my face while I watch reruns on the holosuite.” 

Soonyoung huffs, jabbing him in the thigh with the toe of his boot. There is a yelp and the clang of metal on metal but Wonwoo remains resolutely in his place underneath the ship. “I exercise! Just because I don’t have a division to train with doesn’t mean I don’t train.”

“Mmm,” Wonwoo hums non-committedly, attention still focused on whatever he’s doing to the fuselage of Soonyoung’s ship. “Would you like me to playback the footage from the security cams in the hallway outside your apartment? Count how often you actually leave your place? We could make a bet? I would win though.”

There it is, that annoying verbal grin that seems to have made itself a home in Wonwoo’s words. “Fuck off,” Soonyoung grumbles, jabbing at him again. “Why are you still working anyway? I’m hungry.” He drags out the last word with a whine and Wonwoo laughs.

“Alright, alright. Let me finish attaching your new fuselage first, you big baby. I’m sure you can wait a couple of minutes.”

Soonyoung sniffs, pushing himself off the floor. “Have I told you how much I hate you? Because I hate you.”

“Mmm. Love you too.”

Soonyoung rolls his eyes but there’s a smile tugging on his lips when he grabs his face shield and blowtorch off the wing of his racer. He is placing them back into their drawer slots in the wall by the holo screen when the screen crackles, the telltale sign that the channel is about to go into a commercial break. Soonyoung glances at it in disinterest as he presses a button that pulls the drawers back into the wall. He is about to turn away from the screen when the screen flashes and a pre-recording of an old news clip starts playing, his own face taking up the entire left side of the screen.

_“Kwon Soonyoung, a crowd favourite, missed first place by a hair's breadth during last year’s races, giving the title over to fellow racer, Kim Mingyu. With both racers slotted to take part in this year’s Dune Race...”_

A video starts playing, showing a moment he knows all too well. If he thinks hard enough, he can still remember how it felt that day; the sunlight reflecting off the numerous sand dunes of Cora, the dark copper of the sand a complement to the burning orange of the sky. In his mind, he can hear the hum of his engine, the vibrations from it that rattle him as he speeds across the sand leaving a storm in his wake. He had been so close; the finish line was finally coming into view just around the corner from the cliff face in front of him, its jagged peak looming over him treacherously as he'd rounded its edge. It had been a tight fit, his right wing almost clipping the rock face but then he was through, and it was a clear shot from there straight through to the finish line.

He had already given himself the win in his mind — had envisioned the screams and the cheers, could feel the weight of the giant trophy in his hand — when it happened. From out of nowhere there had come the low rumble of another engine. He had barely had time to register the sound let alone the presence of another racer coming up beside him before it appeared, its wingtip a hairsbreadth from his own. It was a huge thing, he remembers, a behemoth of a racer, that had dwarfed his completely. It looked a lot closer to the size of a small ship than a racer, now that Soonyoung is thinking about it. It had taken him another second to gather his wits about him but that was all it took for the racer to pull ahead by just enough. He had lost the race by a millisecond and that thought sits like a stone in his chest as the memories replay in his mind overlaid by the jerky staccato of the newscaster’s voice.

“Hey.” Wonwoo’s voice snaps him out of his thoughts as he slaps his palm across the holosuite, effectively silencing it. “Stop listening to that. You would have won, and you know it.”

Soonyoung sighs, running a hand through his sweat-drenched hair. “That’s the thing, isn’t it? I _should_ have. But I didn’t. The gap had been too close and I hadn’t realised it until he’d already overtaken me. I got complacent.”

“It was one race, Soon, stop beating yourself up about it. And it was your first time in the finals. Most racers your age don’t even get that far.” Wonwoo claps a hand on his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze in encouragement. “ Just make sure you win the next one. Make sure it’s indisputable, a clear win. Make sure no one even has the chance to pull ahead at the last minute.”

“Easy for you to say,” Soonyoung grumbles, shrugging Wonwoo’s hand off him in a way that has Wonwoo huffing out a laugh. “You’re not the one that’s gonna be on the circuit.”

“But I am the one that just gave you — and installed, by the way — a whole new fuselage. That alone should increase the power of your engine at least two-fold, if not more.”

Soonyoung winces at the reminder because Wonwoo is right, the new fuselage should be able to up his average speed by at least a good thirty miles per hour, and he knows it hadn’t been cheap either. “Sorry, you know I appreciate it right? I just …” He trails off helplessly.

“I get it, Soonie. Don’t worry. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t?” Wonwoo laughs, throwing an arm around his shoulders as he tugs him towards the exit. “But, seriously, stop thinking about it. By the time the next race comes around, she’ll be perfectly tuned and I will be right there in the pit with you, just in case.”

“Like always.”

Wonwoo laughs a low husky sound that brings a smile to Soonyoung’s face as well. “Like always. But you better listen to me if I ask you to make a stop this time.”

Soonyoung hums, shooting Wonwoo one of his signature grins. “No promises.”

Wonwoo snorts, eyes rolling in fond exasperation as they step out into the corridor. “You’re a fucking menace, you know that? Now, let’s go. I wanna try that new burger place on the lower levels.”

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

The burger place had been an absolute bust — like most of Wonwoo’s other recommendations. He honestly doesn’t know why he keeps agreeing to these food escapades; he can count on a single hand the number of times Wonwoo’s brought him somewhere with food that is even passably edible. The only upside to their trip was that the Lower Levels were also home to some of the best frozen dessert stalls and Soonyoung had made extra sure that Wonwoo compensated his taste buds for the sheer disaster their dinner had been.

Wonwoo had left soon after, though, having received an urgent call from someone on the Council about an important development or something of that sort. Soonyoung has never cared much for the military and its politics, choosing to let people like Wonwoo and his father deal with things of that sort. Not that his father hasn’t tried though, having brought Soonyoung up in a largely military household, grooming him in the hope that he would follow in his footsteps and join the New Titan Command. 

Soonyoung can still remember the look on his father’s face the day he had come home and announced that he had applied to the Titan Engineering Guild — suffice it to say that the meal that followed had been nothing short of tense and unpleasant. He doesn’t think his father has ever forgiven him for making that decision, not entirely anyway. Definitely not now that he’s chosen to use his skills as an engineer and pilot to compete in the Dune Races.

Soonyoung sighs inwardly as thoughts of the Races cloud his mind, fingers tracing absently along the cool metal of the rail seats. He had been lucky enough to get a seat on the speed rail at this hour and he chooses to make full use of it; relaxing gratefully into the seat as the slow murmur of the surrounding conversations washes over him. At this time of day, the carriage is packed with people in suits and uniforms, most of them with the same exhausted look on their faces. Soonyoung even catches a faint whiff of alcohol, which he chooses to ignore, turning instead to the sight beyond the glass window.

The Lower Levels spread out below him, the orange glow of the city lights stretching down, down as far as he can see. He loves taking the rail for the sole reason that he can look out over the city he calls home. He watches people as they cross the labyrinth of gangways and catwalks on their way to homes and shops — all of them crisscrossing over each other in a giant network that connects most of the structures that make up the city’s infrastructure. This network stretches all the way down into the furthest reaches of the planet, stopping right before it gets too hot to survive.

Most of the towering structures they call buildings are made of either the rock that makes up most of their planet or a particular iron alloy, dark from the coating of anti-rust paint they use on all their materials. Ironically, that makes the metal look rusted over. Windows dot the surfaces of the buildings, some strange combination of steel and glass that makes them near unbreakable; a necessity because of the pressure fluctuations this far below the surface. The glass also filters light in a strange way, which gives the entire city this dark red hue. That, coupled with the warm orange of the lighting installed in every public space, makes the city look like some kind of coal pit. Soonyoung likes it. He thinks it looks like what the _hell_ described in some of the old books he’s read would look like.

It is a long journey back to the Upper Levels and he spends most of it alternating between watching the city fly past him and drowning himself in thoughts of the races. The particular rail he’s on loops through the western sections of the city before it finally connects to a direct line to the Upper Levels. This gives Soonyoung enough time to think back on everything that’s happened today — on the modifications he and Wonwoo had managed to do on his racer, on the news broadcast that had played that had reminded just how close he had been to winning his first time in the finals. He doesn’t like being bitter. He knows he should be thankful that he had even made it that far. But it had hurt more to lose when he had been so close, close enough that he could almost taste the victory on his tongue. He shakes his head, pulling himself out of the maelstrom of thoughts. He won’t let that happen again, not for this race, and definitely not against Kim Mingyu.

He leans back in his seat. There has to be something, some other modification he can make to his racer that will allow him to take that margin and stretch it by a mile. The new fuselage will help for sure, but it is not enough, not _nearly_ enough to settle the anxiety that has started churning in his gut every time he so much as thinks about the races. He needs a guarantee, something that will ensure a win. Nothing comes to him, though, not at that moment anyway, and he sighs, watching glumly as building after building passes by outside the window. There has to be something, he only needs to find out what.

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

By the time he makes it back to his apartment, Soonyoung feels like he has already racked his brain a hundred times over for any possible ship modification and yet he’s come up completely and utterly _dry_. No matter what he thinks of changing, nothing he has come up with has provided a significant-enough predicted change in the potential output of his racer. He toes off his shoes in frustration, leaving them in a heap by the door. He presses a palm to the door once it grinds to a shut behind him, leaving his palm firmly in place until it beeps twice signalling that it is locked. 

His apartment is a tiny one, what with him choosing to move out from his family home the minute he had received his acceptance into the Engineering Guild. This meant that he’d had to use what little savings he had to be able to afford even this sad excuse for an apartment. The front door opens right into a small kitchenette with barely enough counter space for his microwave and his coffee machine, let alone space to cook. From there, it opens up into his apartment proper, the narrow walkway widening into a small rectangular space with a bed that lies against the wall at the far end opposite his recreational holo suite.

Of course, everything in the apartment is made from a combination of rock and the same dark metal alloy that the rest of the city is made of, with most of the walls being made out of smoothed down versions of the rock face the building is carved into while the trimmings are metal. Despite the ridiculous hike in price, Soonyoung had still opted for an apartment with windows, which is what takes up most of the far wall. Being on the upper levels means that he gets an amazing view of the entire western sector and the view alone is probably the only reason he had been so willing to split with his life's’ savings regardless of the sad size of the apartment. 

He wants to head straight for his desk — a large dark steel structure currently situated in the space between his bed and the kitchen, which his work holo sits atop on — to start on his search, while the thoughts of racer modifications are still floating around his head, but he knows that what he actually needs is a shower. The thought of the shower reminds him how gross he actually feels, covered head to toe in a gross mixture of engine oil, sweat and dirt. Yup, a shower is definitely on the top of his list of things to do right now. The water will probably help to clear his thoughts anyway and he will, hopefully, be able to tackle the problem from a fresher (no pun intended) perspective.

He drags himself out of the kitchenette, rounding the corner while absentmindedly jabbing at the button that will open the door to his bathroom as he finally rids himself of his sweat-stained clothes. He dumps them straight into the container by the door and jumps into the stall. 

The burn of the hot water works wonders and Soonyoung finds himself relaxing immediately under its spray, mind going blissfully blank for the few minutes that he spends in there. The tension washes out of him too, along with the dirt, grime, and engine grease, until he finally feels like a properly-functioning version of himself again.

When he is finally done and dressed in clean, comfortable clothes, he settles himself at his desk and pulls up a search engine on his work holo. His fingers hover over the keyboard but he finds himself at an immediate loss for what to search for. Nothing had worked when he’d calculated it in his mind, even if he changed his engines or added extra booster nozzles, nothing short of completely re-designing his racer would give him the improvement he wants. He groans, fingers pulling through his still-wet strands of hair as he stares at the blue-green screen in front of him. 

He supposes he could look up engines, that might be enough to give him the extra power he needs to win, even if it isn’t by a landslide. He has enough credits leftover from his previous race winnings to buy a good set too. He purses his lips, he might have to recalibrate fuel output and rework a whole bunch of other stuff but— He freezes, lip caught between his teeth mid-worry. Fuel. That’s it! If he can find a better fuel source compatible with his engine that has a higher energy conversation rate, it could work.

Immediately, his hands are flying over the keyboard, fingers plugging keywords into the search bar that will, hopefully, bring him an alternative fuel source that will give him the edge he needs. There are pages and pages, and links upon links of posts and articles but none of them are what he is looking for — many of them being minor variants of the fuel he is currently using for his racer, neither of which will provide him with significant improvement. 

A good thirty minutes pass before he finally gives up, collapsing against the back of his desk chair with a sigh. He knew that it would be difficult, especially considering that he is already using one of the highest quality fuel cells on the market but he knows that there have to be _alternatives._ He glances at the screen again, eyeing the list of links decrying the latest and greatest fuel cells and energy sources when a thought comes to him.

Wordlessly, he pulls up a second browser and keys in a set of numbers into the address bar. The screen immediately dims as the page he’s on turns it black. There seems to be nothing on it at first, just random lines of code that dance across the screen but he waits, because he knows that this is a waiting game of sorts. He fiddles with his keyboard occasionally but his eyes never leave the screen until the line of code he is looking for pops up. He clicks on it quickly before it can float off the page. 

The code takes him to a page that prompts him for a password, which he keys in almost hesitantly, holding his breath as he presses into the synthetic pad that makes up the keyboard. The password works, and he breathes out a sigh of relief. He's never made it this far, always choosing to back out the first few times he had forayed into this part of the web. The page he lands on looks to be a forum of some sort, there is a large symbol on the top of the page that looks like a fuel cell cracked in half and leaking a strange, glowing liquid. The image pulses and a shiver runs down his spine. He immediately scrolls past it until it moves off the screen.

The threads are separated into categories — small, medium, and large cells; used or unused; modified or not. He clicks into the medium tab and filters it so that he is only looking at unused fuel cells. At first, it looks like there is nothing much, just a bunch of threads from people selling heavily modified fuel cells that may or may not pass legal inspection. It is only when he gets to the third page that he finds it, buried beneath all the threads that are doing the text equivalent of touting their wares. There is no title on it, only a little symbol of a white diamond.

Suffice it to say, it catches Soonyoung’s attention instantly and he clicks into it without any hesitation. There is nothing in the original post except the words “crystal fuel source — 10,000 credits”. The thread is still opened so he can only assume that no one has asked about it or bought it yet, although a small part of him can’t help but wonder why. You see, Soonyoung isn’t an idiot (far from it in fact despite what others may say), he knows that crystal fuel is extremely rare, extremely powerful, and extremely valuable. The fact that this person even has one already has Soonyoung’s guard up, add to that the fact that he is willing to part with it for ten thousand credits and Soonyoung is downright suspicious. No one would be selling one for less than a hundred thousand credits if they were smart enough, and Soonyoung doubts this person isn’t smart enough. No one on this part of the web would be.

Soonyoung frowns as he rereads the single line of description over and over again until he’s sure that if they cut him open right there, the words will be tattooed on the inside of his skull. The little message symbol beside the poster’s name glints at him like it is taunting him, daring him to just _take the step_. He goes back and forth over the options a couple more times — even clicks into a few other threads—before he finally decides that merely contacting the poster couldn't hurt, even if it is a scam. At the most, he’ll have to put up with someone trying to sell him a rock for ten thousand credits.

Taking a deep breath, he taps the glowing message symbol.

_— Hi. Is the crystal still for sale?_

There is nothing for a while, only the little blue insertion point blinking on the screen for what feels like hours (but is probably only a couple of minutes) before ellipses appear to show that someone is typing. Soonyoung’s heart immediately shoots up into his throat and he grips the table tightly, eyes never leaving the screen. He can even feel his palms start to get sweaty despite the fact that his apartment is set to automatically acclimatise to both his body temperature and external conditions, which is usually just a few degrees off sweltering on a good day. 

Soonyoung thinks he actually stops breathing when the message pops up on the screen, short and to the point, like the knife he feels like falling on for coming up with this stupid idea.

_— Depends on who’s asking._

Fuck.

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soonyoung stares at the last message for a few minutes, unable to fight the feeling of unease that has settled into every inch of his body. Now that the adrenaline running through his system from this foray into the darker parts of the web is slowly wearing off he can’t help but second-guess his decision. What did he just do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have a longer chapter this time! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter 💞

Soonyoung ends up giving the seller a bare-bones idea of who he is and why he is looking for a fuel-source, making sure to gloss over anything that could be used to identify him; he really doesn’t need any other racer finding out about his plan. He remains skeptical throughout the entire transaction, though, even when the seller finally deems him worthy enough to suggest a meeting point. 

— _You know the planet Drega?_

Soonyoung’s hand stills over the keyboard as he takes in the words on the screen. Drega. He’s only ever heard of the planet — small, hot, known mainly for being the only planet this side of the galaxy to hold an interplanetary marketplace so large it takes up a whole quarter of the planet’s landmass. According to the travelling merchants who occasionally find their way to New Titan, the planet is a smorgasbord — anyone looking for anything is bound to find _something_ there. Even items that seem to straddle the fine line of legality, which Soonyoung figures is where this seller and his stock stands.

— _I’ve heard of it._

His palm is still sweaty as he types in his answer — admitting to knowing that he’s heard of the planet labels him as being part of a certain crowd of people he is not sure he wants the seller thinking he is from. You see, despite Drega being a marketplace, it still isn’t one that is commonly mentioned in civilised company. You’ll know it if you have need of it, is what people say about it, and you’ll only have need of it if you… well, if your motives aren’t exactly the purest.

— _Good. I’ll see you in 3 days. Send me another message when you reach the Southernmost section of the market and I’ll give you more information then._

Soonyoung frowns. That’s it? No more questions? There’s a strange tingling that runs down his spine and he shivers slightly. All of this seems way too convenient, but it is all he has at the moment. Sighing, he types in his response.

— _Great. I’ll see you then._

— _Looking forward to it._

Soonyoung stares at the last message for a few minutes, unable to fight the feeling of unease that’s settled into every inch of his body. Now that the adrenaline running through his system from this foray into the darker parts of the web is slowly wearing off he can’t help but second-guess his decision. What did he just do? Did he really just agree to spend a portion of his winnings on the mere _idea_ of a fuel source powerful enough to secure a win? The guy had given him nothing, hadn’t even provided proof that he did, in fact, own a crystal fuel source and, of course, Soonyoung hadn’t had enough of his wits about him to ask. 

_At least he didn’t ask for a deposit_ , the voice in his head that sounds suspiciously like Wonwoo reminds him and he figures that it is right. He wouldn’t have been stupid enough to provide one anyway. He groans, closing his eyes against the pressure that’s been steadily building in his head since he’d started this search and slides down in his seat until he can rest his head comfortably against the backing. He reasons that he has nothing to lose by going to the planet anyway — if the sale falls through then he can at least make a trip out of it. It will be good to get off the planet for a while too seeing as the last time he’d gone off-world was the previous Dune Race, which was almost an entire year ago now.

Sighing, he gets up from his seat, waving a hand lazily at the sensor embedded in the bottom of his desk to turn off his holosuite. The loss of light from the holosuite leaves him stumbling around in the semi-darkness until he collides with his bed, hissing when his shins come into contact with the cold metal frame a bit too hard for his liking. Cursing under his breath, he sheds the outer layer of his clothes before falling unceremoniously into the bed. He’ll talk to Wonwoo about it all tomorrow he decides as he wrenches the covers out from under him. Maybe he will even try to convince Wonwoo to go with him. Maybe. For now, he pushes the entire encounter out of his mind and allows sleep to claim him.

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

“You’re a fucking idiot, you know that?” Wonwoo says around a mouthful of instant noodles. He stares disapprovingly at Soonyoung from across the table and Soonyoung groans, dropping his head into his hands. They’re at the cafeteria in the West military base, home to some of the most meagre noodles on the planet according to Wonwoo but what do you expect from a military base? It is also where Wonwoo and his division are currently stationed, which is how Soonyoung finds himself there the next day as he catches Wonwoo up on his night of questionable decision-making.

They’re at one of the corner tables, more a bench than anything really, the cold from the metal seat cuts through the pants that he has on — an all-black piece that is a sight more presentable than the outfits he normally wears to his workshops. It is a bit past lunch hour so the hall is mostly empty except for a couple of tables at the other end where the entrance is. It isn’t as dinghy as you would expect either, the cool fluorescent lights overhead illuminating the relatively clean concrete flooring and reflecting off the metal surfaces of the tables and benches that take up most of the space in the hall. 

“I know, Woo,” Soonyoung says, his reply coming out muffled from behind his hands. “I don’t know what I was thinking but it just… seemed like a good opportunity. Y’know?”

Wonwoo sighs. “You don’t even know if the guy even has this crystal. Or if the crystal is going to do what the guy says it’s going to do. What if he tries to jump you?”

Soonyoung lifts his head from his hands and stares forlornly at where Wonwoo is busy swirling another mouthful of noodles around his chopsticks, his own noodles lying almost cold and forgotten in front of him. “That’s why you have to come with me.”

Wonwoo looks at him, lips pursed and Soonyoung already knows what he’s going to say before he says it. “I would if I could, Soon. You know I would. But your dad has me stretched thin running patrols all over the place, and you _know_ I’ve been assigned to train another division too.” He stabs pathetically at a piece of meat floating around in his broth. “I wish I could go.”

Soonyoung offers him a smile, foot lightly tapping against Wonwoo’s under the table when he refuses to look back at him. “It’s okay. I know it’s difficult being the favourite son,” Soonyoung says, grinning at him and Wonwoo kicks him back.

“Shut up. You know that as much as he likes me, you will always be his son. He’d just like you a whole lot better if you listened to him and maybe acted like you were actually his son once in a while.”

Soonyoung’s grin widens. “And where would the fun be in that? Besides, I wouldn’t last a day in the military and you both know it.”

Wonwoo laughs. “You could have been a mechanic.”

“Really?” Soonyoung snorts, finally reaching for the chopsticks that have been lying across the top of his bowl for the entirety of the time they’ve been sitting there. “And give up my prestigious position at the Engineering Guild? No way. Plus, I would be miserable here.”

“But you’d get to see me everyday.”

“Exactly.”

Wonwoo scowls, tossing a stray noodle at Soonyoung, but there’s no real heat behind it. “Fuck you.”

Soonyoung dodges the noodle with ease and finally takes a bite of his now-cold meal. They lapse into a comfortable silence for a while, Soonyoung’s head filled with a dozen possible what-if scenarios — things that could probably, _possibly,_ happen to him while he is on Drega. The first thing he’d done that morning was look up a map of the planet and the market — if he is going to be walking into a trap he might as well be familiar with any and all potential escape routes out of the market and, by extension, the planet. Unfortunately, that had only served to confuse him because the place was a labyrinth and, while he had already committed most of the map to memory, he knows things will be different on the ground.

It is Wonwoo who breaks the silence first, having finished most of his lunch. “So, what are you gonna do? You know you’re gonna have to leave soon if you’re going to travel.”

Soonyoung frowns, worrying his bottom lip into near oblivion as he contemplates his choices. “I don’t know. There really is no harm going, right? As long as I don’t put myself in a compromising position, you know, stick to public places and all that.”

“And if he tells you to go somewhere more private?” Wonwoo ask, brow furrowing as he watches Soonyoung pick at the sad remains of his lunch. “The guy did say you’d get further instructions when you get there right?”

“Yeah. But I figure I can always call it off, or ignore the instruction, if I get the sense that something isn’t right.”

Wonwoo’s furrow between his brow starts to deepen and Soonyoung can see him doing the mental calculations, figuring out the probabilities of the different what-if scenarios in his own head. “I guess. Just be careful, please. The last thing you need is to end up in a section of the market surrounded by people who work for this guy, whoever he — or she, I guess — is.”

Of course, Soonyoung has considered this possibility that this could be a setup, that he could be robbed, or worse, _killed._ But it sounds a lot worse coming from Wonwoo who, more often than not, is his sole voice of reason. Something uncomfortable settles in his gut and he picks at a piece of meat to distract himself. “I know. I’ve got— I will have the layout of the market memorised as best as I can before I go in. And I’ll keep my transmitter on me at all times so… you know…”

“If anything happens, I’ll be able to find you,” Wonwoo finishes for him. He offers Soonyoung a reassuring smile but it doesn’t reach his eyes and that just makes the feeling in Soonyoung’s gut get heavier even more. 

“You better. Or I’ll come back to haunt you,” Soonyoung answers, a poor attempt at trying to make light of the conversation.

“Soon…” Wonwoo trails off and his heart squeezes a little when he sees the worried look in Wonwoo’s eyes. He reaches across the table and gives Wonwoo’s hand a reassuring pat.

“I’ll be fine. Give me some credit. You know this isn’t my first space jaunt.”

“And how many of your previous ones haven’t led to near-death experiences, huh?” Wonwoo grumbles, snatching his hand away from where Soonyoung has rested his on top of it. “Just come back alive, okay?”

Soonyoung laughs. “I will. Who else is gonna make your life miserable?”

Wonwoo snorts but the way his lips have already begun to curl upwards betrays his true feelings. “I hate you.”

“Mmm, you love me.”

Wonwoo kicks him again.

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

Once Soonyoung has received the bare bones acknowledgement he takes to be Wonwoo’s (very reluctant) blessing, he starts preparing himself for the trip. He has done all the calculations and the trip to Drega should not take longer than twenty four hours, even after factoring all possible space conditions. This means that if he leaves tonight he should get there with about one day to spare before he has to meet with his mysterious seller. That gives him enough time to familiarise himself with the market and its layout physically, putting physical landmarks to the scratchy approximations he already has in his head. 

He spends the rest of the day packing — he grabs a couple of outfits from his wardrobe, clothes to suit the arid, desert temperatures that Drega is known for. He also heads back down to his workshop boiler room to retrieve the smattering of weapons he keeps locked up in a secret drawer no one (except Wonwoo) knows anything about. Most of them have been heavily modified by himself too — analogue guns that have been digitised enough to allow him to get clearer locks on potential targets and tasers that he’s modified to be wireless darts. He even has a wicked miniature crossbow that shoots a variety of self-engineered darts at people — the darts ranging from lethal poison-filled ones to his non-lethal charged darts that he created to knock people out. The crossbow really is his personal favourite, if he’s being honest with himself.

He deftly packs the weapon, sliding it easily into the overnight bag he had brought along with him with a small grin before foregoing the guns in favour of the glass knives that, while aren’t heavily modified, are the only weapons he owns that he’ll be able to sneak past any kind of weapon detection system. Once he has all the weapons and tools he needs — he always brings a portable set of his engineering tools with him, just in case — he makes his way back to his apartment to grab the remainder of his belongings.

His ship is parked in one of the hangers somewhere on the Eastern side of the Upper Circle, one of the ones more commonly used by diplomats instead of the army. This hangar space is arguably more expensive than if he had chosen to get one down at one of the military hangars but he had refused his father’s offer of a free space on principle — his family connections are off limits, even to himself, no matter how much it offended or upset his father. He also didn’t need his father having something else to hold over him.

The ship, a medium-sized double-decked vessel, stands at the end of the hangar closest to the hanger doors. The white exterior panels are stained in some places, while in others they remain pristine. There is a slight dent in the front that Soonyoung hasn’t yet had the time to fix and he winces when his gaze lands on the beat up panel. His ship’s name — Solar Flare — is printed beneath the left wing in large orange letters, which, thankfully, have not yet been scraped away although he is not sure how much longer they will last. Soonyoung can’t help the smile that creeps onto his face at the sight of her, his pride and joy, the first ship he had ever built and the only reason his father had reluctantly agreed to let him join the Engineering Guild.

She has seen him through many interstellar trips including the occasional skirmishes he has had with looting and pirate vessels and he feels slightly bad for having left her, unused and, for all intents and purposes, _abandoned_ in this horrible hangar. He crosses the space in double time, eager to finally be able to take her out for a spin again, despite it being under such questionable circumstances. He trails his fingers across the outside walls, frowning when he ends up scraping through a layer of dirt and grime — he really should take her out more often. He says a quick mental apology for not treating her well before pressing his palm against one of the panels by the door. Its edges glow blue for a second before it beeps once and the door lowers into a ramp that will take Soonyoung up onto the lower deck.

Warm, stale air hits him as the door opens and he wrinkles his nose, immediately regretting his decision to forego the air freshener patch he’d seen on his desk prior to leaving his apartment. He steps onto the ramp and the inside immediately lights up illuminating the entryway and the stairs that lead up to the second deck, where the flight controls are. He dumps his bags on the seats that line the walls along the back half of the ship, pressing a hand to another identical panel by the door that brings it back up until it closes behind him. The front half of the bottom deck contains a small kitchenette-slash-storage area that is stacked on one side by boxes of provisions and food that probably don’t have an expiration date within this current century. It also opens up to a huge floor to ceiling window that connects to one on the upper deck, which provides Soonyoung with the option of a great view of space on either deck.

Smell aside, the ship still feels like home in a way even his apartment still does not, and he allows the warmth of being back in the ship to settle comfortably in his chest as he makes his way to the flight control deck. The controls are only mildly dusty considering that they haven’t been touched for the better part of a year. The controls awaken at his touch, much like the rest of his ship did, their multi-coloured lights flickering on across the dashboard. 

He settles comfortably into the pilot’s seat and waits while the system warms up, allowing the gentle vibrations of the engine starting up and the beeps of the computer to lull him into a more relaxed state. There are a couple more beeps before the round globe in the center of the control panel lights up, warm orange swirls of light dance across its surface like some kind of mist. It pulses once and then a computerised, female voice crackles through the speakers overhead.

 _“So you haven’t forgotten about me.”_

Soonyoung winces, forgetting his AI’s unrelenting propensity for snark. He had considered, more than once, to programme it out of her but he decided against it in the end after coming to the conclusion that it was far more entertaining to keep her that way even if it usually was at his own expense. “Sorry, S. It’s been a while, huh?”

_“It’s been a while for you. Time is relative and I don’t feel its effects.”_

Soonyoung waves a hand noncommittally. “Semantics. I am sorry, though.”

_“I don’t feel the effects of your apology either, Kwon Soonyoung.”_

“Now that’s just rude.”

_“And whose fault is that?”_

Soonyoung sighs. He really should have reprogrammed her personality. “I said I’m sorry. Now are you going to fly us out of here or am I going to have to shut you off and do it myself? Because I will.”

_“Ooh, someone’s a little testy.”_

“Speak for yourself,” Soonyoung mumbles under his breath before returning to his normal volume. “Will you _please_ fly us out of here now?”

_“As you wish. Strap in.”_

_Finally._ Soonyoung slides the safety straps across his body, clicking them into place so that they are holding him against his seat in a giant X shape. Solar, or S as he likes to call her, starts up the ship’s engines proper and they roar to life beneath him and the feeling of the engines rumbling runs through him like fire in his veins. God, he’s missed this. He comes to life alongside his ship, feels the rush build in him at the same time that ship shudders and finally, _finally,_ roars to life and he grins. He grabs a hold of the flight controls when the ship starts to lift off from the hangar floor and steers the ship towards the round circle marked into the floor at the far end that designates where the hangar doors lie above them. 

He presses a button on the control panel and he hears the hangar doors slide open above him — giant mechanical whirring and the groaning of the old gear systems in the doors rattling his bones as he adjusts his ship to sit below it nicely. He can’t see it but he knows that the hangar doors open into a giant chute that leads to a second set of doors on the surface of the planet, both of which are completely airtight to prevent any trace of the planet’s toxic atmosphere from leaking into the underground city. 

Only when the doors are completely open does Soonyoung take the ship up into the chute. Slowly, he guides its giant body into the chute, even though he knows the circumference of the chute is more than enough to take the size of his ship — he can’t risk anything happening to his baby, after all. There is a loud clang and a subsequent groaning of the gears that signals that the doors below him are now sealing themselves shut. It barely takes him thirty seconds to reach the top of the chute but the inner hangar doors below him take longer than that to close, and he is left waiting at the top of the chute for another minute or so. Only when the atmosphere has been vented completely do the second set of doors above him finally start to open.

Immediately, swirls of a reddish brown gas spills into the chute through the opening and Soonyoung reflexively hits the shield button even though he knows S would have had the shields on the minute she had started the ship. The gas curls around his ship, almost like it has a mind of its own, and Soonyoung has to suppress a shudder at the thought of even a sliver of it making its way onto his ship. Breathing in even the smallest amount promises a slow and painful death; he’s seen it once and Soonyoung is dead set on never ever seeing it or experiencing it, ever again.

The doors open fully with a resounding clang of metal on metal and Soonyoung steers his ship upwards, cutting a path through the swirling mass of brown and red gas that covers the entire surface of the planet. The planet is not all land and toxic gas though — Soonyoung knows that they do have bodies of water both below and above ground or it wouldn’t have been considered for an Earth colony otherwise — and in the distance he can see it, the deep dark blue that marks the closest ocean to their city. Sometimes, Soonyoung wishes that they lived on the surface so that he can experience what the water feels like as it rushes the shore like he sometimes sees it do. He wants to be on the shore as it happens, feel the tug of the tide against his legs. It doesn’t help that most of the other planets Soonyoung frequents during the Race season don’t have giant bodies of water either, so it remains a pipe dream, something he can only ever dream of experiencing.

He pulls them up into the atmosphere and out into space, stretching his slightly stiff piloting muscles as he does so. It isn’t like he needs to worry much, flight controls have never felt unfamiliar under his palm, not since he’d first sat behind the wheel of a racer over a decade ago now, and muscle memory takes over more often than not. He pulls far enough away from New Titan before swinging around so that he is facing his planet. He admires the way it looks below him, beautiful swirls of deep rust and blue shift across the surface of the planet. He snaps a few quick photos on his holo watch to send to Wonwoo before he turns his ship around and hits the button that will take him to light speed. 

Immediately, the area just beyond the ship crackles in front of him and then a crack appears, like someone’s taken a knife to the cloth that is the universe and sheared it open. The crack widens and lightning cracks across the wide expanse, the streaks of light around it bending in strange ways before his ship is suddenly propelled into it and he is swathed in almost complete darkness. He settles into his seat to watch for a while, admiring the way the light from nearby solar systems bend and stretch around him as he travels at a speed faster than light itself. 

The light speed slipstream has always been his favourite part about travelling — he has always found it oddly calming, being completely surrounded in a near-black tunnel of space that is streaked with the occasional light of a star that he passes. Space is silent too, contrary to what most of the older movies will have you believe, there is no sound of the wind rushing past, just the soft rumble of his engine and the occasional beep of the ship computer. It almost feels like some kind of out-of-body experience for him, being surrounded by nothing and yet everything all at once. He takes a deep breath, relaxing back against his seat for another beat before he unstraps himself and pushes up off of it.

“S, take over will you?”

_“Of course. Get some rest, Captain.”_

Soonyoung smiles at the title, a running joke he’d programmed into the AI so that she would formally address him as Captain — obviously not always, as she had demonstrated just moments before, but often enough. He really only kept it in her programming because it irked Wonwoo, who is, in fact, an actual Captain in the military and who would never pass up the chance to remind Soonyoung that he isn’t _actually_ a Captain. 

(“You can’t call yourself that, Soon! You don’t have rank.”

“But I own a ship, which I pilot by myself, which means I am my ship’s captain!”

“You’re not a fucking pirate, Soonyoung!”

“But who says I can’t be one?”)

Soonyoung feels his lips curving into a smile at the memory, Wonwoo had been so exasperated with him that he had stormed out of his apartment without another word. Soonyoung had reassured him later, of course, that it would only happen on his ship and he wouldn’t try to enforce it anywhere else, which had placated him for a time. 

Soonyoung sighs. He wishes Wonwoo could have come, he would feel safer, maybe even a little less lonely, but he knows he couldn’t have pulled Wonwoo away from his job even if he tried. The man is too much of a workaholic and, as much as he complains, he loves what he does too much to ever compromise it by going on reckless trips with Soonyoung. 

He heads into the cabin that makes up the back end of the upper deck, shirking his clothes as he goes. There is a bunk against the far wall beneath another glass window and a door on the left that leads to what is probably the universe’s tiniest bathroom but it’s _his_ tiny bathroom, so he makes do. He gives the bunk a tentative rap with his feet, flinching at the small puff of dust that erupts from the deceptively white mattress. Great. 

He grabs his now-discarded shirt and uses it to dust the mattress off, making a mental note to give his ship the cleaning she deserves when he gets back from Drega. At least the ventilation system should be more than enough to filter the dust from the air. He grabs a spare blanket from one of the many storage panels that line the walls of the cabin before sinking into it. He still has twenty fours hours until he gets to Drega so he forces all thoughts about the planet and the crystal from his mind. Around him, soft music starts playing and he thanks S in his head for remembering his preferences (not like she has a choice really) before he lets the familiar sounds of his ship lull him to sleep.

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

Twenty four hours passes surprisingly fast — Soonyoung spends the remainder of the time eating, chatting occasionally to S (who successfully manages to annoy Soonyoung on more than one occasion), and double-checking the bolts of his crossbow ensuring that he has both his lethal and non-lethal bolts just in case. He even manages to squeeze in another nap before S announces that they are an hour away from their destination. That familiar feeling of dread that has been building since he agreed to the meet up with the seller finally erupts in a giant flurry of self-doubt and second-guessing that he ends up spending a good half of that final hour debating the pros and cons of even setting foot on the planet.

They drop out of light speed and the planet Drega comes into view — a small, yellow, sandy-coloured planet in the distance, its twin moons orbiting it at opposing ends, one slightly bigger than the other. S guides the ship towards the planet while Soonyoung watches as they draw closer to the planet, chewing absently on a nail as his brain tries to process the fact that he is _here_ and that he has about five minutes to decide if he wants to turn tail and run. 

_“We are on our final approach to Drega, Captain. Have you decided whether or not you are too afraid to go down there?”_ S announces, very loudly and very unnecessarily. Okay, less than five minutes.

Soonyoung glares at the orange orb that flickers only slightly but Soonyoung knows that if she had a physical body she would probably be smirking at him. “I am _not_ afraid,” he hisses at it and the orange light swirls in what Soonyoung thinks is probably amusement. “I just… I don’t know what to expect.”

_“Well, if it makes you feel better I did some research while you were asleep and found that Drega is not only popular amongst people like yourself but also, occasionally, amongst tourists. Apparently, they hold tours sometimes. Okay, very sparingly actually, but I’m sure that means that means it cannot be all bad.”_

Soonyoung groans allowing his head to thud against the headrest of his seat as he watches the planet grow closer. “It’s not so much the planet I’m afraid of…” _It’s what might be waiting for me on it._ He pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration but he knows that, ultimately, he has no choice — he made this particular bed and now he has to lie in it.

“Let me get dressed, then I’ll take us down.”

_“I knew you could do it, Captain.”_

Soonyoung casts one last glance at the planet before heading back into the cabin — if only he knew it too.

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

He sets them down in a lot just outside the southwestern entrance of the market, the air under his wings stirring up the yellow sand that stretches across the planet’s surface for as far as the eye can see. The temperature reading on his flight control panel tells him that it is just a few degrees shy of being uncomfortably warm and he thanks his past self for thinking to pack light outfits only. He is wearing an almost sheer white collared shirt tucked neatly into a pair of khaki shorts just loose enough to allow his skin to breathe, and also so that he has enough space to strap his daggers under them without the knives being seen.

His crossbow is a bit more difficult to hide but he had made it collapsible and it looks almost inconspicuous where it hangs at his hip. Even the pouches that contain his bolts hang from the other hip are disguised to look like nothing more than money pouches. The planet’s sun is just about to go down by the time he gets everything settled, and it washes the landscape in a warm, yellow glow. Soonyoung grabs a hat and some protective gear for his face against the grains of sand he sees getting tossed about by the wind. 

He checks that the goggles and mask are securely in place before he presses his palm to the panel and the door lowers. Immediately, he is hit by a gust of warm wind and about a wall of sand, which has him spluttering, mouth half full of sand, and he hasn’t even stepped out of his ship yet. He already does not like this planet. He grumbles as he walks down the ramp trying, in vain, to dust off the sand that has already started to collect in the dips and crevices of his shirt. He calls a quick “Lock her up for me, S!” over his shoulder before heading straight for the large archway that is the southwestern entrance to the market.

The market itself is surrounded completely by walls of what looks like extremely compacted sand. Despite the questionable material choice, Soonyoung knows that it would take more than the usual amount of force to break through the wall. He wonders, offhandedly, if crashing his ship into it will cause it to crumble. _Probably not_ , says the Wonwoo voice in his mind and he is probably right.

The archway is made up of the same compacted sand as the wall except that the structure is interspersed with bricks that are a couple of shades darker than the sand that makes up the wall. Guards in sand masks and goggles man the top of the arches. Sets of two watch each side, a weapon that looks oddly like a cross between a sword and rifle in each of their hands. Soonyoung can’t tell from this distance whether they are human or not but he assumes they aren’t if they are anything like the indigenous species of the planet. There are guards manning the entrance underneath it as well, hulking figures dressed similarly to the ones at the top of the arch except that they have their weapons slung behind them so that their hands are free to search visitors.

Soonyoung takes note of the typical metal detection machine commonly used at most spaceports and thanks the universe that the weapons he’s brought will not set off the alarm — the knives are a given but the crossbow, while still being metal, is actually made from an alloy of Soonyoung’s own devising that is able to trick most scanners. Although he can’t say that he has actually tested it out with real metal detectors, he _hopes_ that, at the very least, that it won’t be detected.

He watches carefully as two men saunter under the detector, clearly confident in their ability to not set it off, and Soonyoung has to take a deep breath to calm the nerves that flutter against his ribcage. Technically, he is still a day early so no one should be expecting him, which means that this should be nothing more than simple recon — he will go into the market and do a quick walk around of the entire Western quadrant and, hopefully, familiarise himself with the stalls before tomorrow. 

He takes a step towards the entrance and immediately the heads of the two guards swivel towards him. He can’t see their eyes behind the mirrored screens of their goggles but he can feel their gaze on him — it almost makes his skin tingle — which he tries to ignore. He walks over to them, false bravado oozing out of him in waves as he emulates the attitude of the two men who had gone before him, and waits as the guards check his holo ID. They usher him through the barrier and he simultaneously holds his breath while praying to every being of higher power he knows as he crosses the threshold. There is a moment of sheer apprehension, a second where he is suspended in time, feet hovering over the sand on the other side of the barrier where he thinks the alarm might go off. His breath catches in his throat and his muscles tense, ready to react to anything, but it doesn’t. The guards nod at him barely interested anymore as they return to the conversation they had been having before he had approached.

The inside of the market is a whole other world, he feels like he’s crossed some invisible barrier that’s given way to lights and sounds and smells other than that of the howling desert wind and the sand in his face. Stalls fan out from where he is standing, just beyond the entryway, lining three different paths that lead deeper into the market. 

Colourful lanterns are strung across the tops of the stalls, most of them lit now that the sun has almost completed its descent beyond the horizon. The clamour of stall owners competing with their neighbours as they try to tout their wares to the mainly disinterested customers that are strolling down the different aisles rises and falls to match the pattern of energy that seems to surge through the entire marketplace.

There are races of every type here, humans of course, but there are so many others that he’s never seen before. There is a figure that looks vaguely reptilian haggling at a store that seems to be selling chrome wares of all kinds, everything ranging from pots to tiny test tubes. There is another, halfway down the middle path, a man that looks almost human were it not for the pointed, fur-covered ears and the long bushy tail. He realises belatedly that whoever it is must be the same race as Mingyu who he’s always thought looks like a giant puppy. His scan of the market and its patrons is cut short when he is almost bowled over by what looks like a giant slug, who shoves past Soonyoung almost covering parts of him in a gross, slimy ichor. Soonyoung grimaces and flicks off the small amount that clings to his shoes where the thing had slid over his feet (and without apologising, mind you) before he finally settles on an aisle to explore.

He heads down the one on the far right ignoring the roving masses of people that seem to be clustered around the smattering of jewellery and food stalls that have set up shop in this particular row. Soonyoung is doing a good job of weaving through the crowds of people when he is finally forced to stop at one of the food stalls where he is hit with the smell of roasted meat so deliciously overpowering that he gives in to his hunger without much of a fight. 

The stall in question seems to be selling sticks of what looks like meatballs, except they’re easily the size of his fist and they are covered in a thin layer of some kind of pastry. They have Soonyoung’s mouth watering almost instantly and it is enough motivation for him to brave the crowd of people that have gathered in front of the stall. He decides to pass on asking the stall owner what it is, though, deciding that the guy looks far too happy to have this many people buying his food to want to know.

Soonyoung munches on his snack as he continues his “browsing”, which is mainly his way of making mental notes of all the popular stalls and the ones that have attracted next to no customers. He is just walking past one of those said empty stalls when someone from the inside calls him over. He freezes, eyes darting quickly towards the crowd at one of the nearby stalls as he debates the merits of ignoring the guy and disappearing into the crowd before he caves and turns towards the voice. 

He is greeted by a little man seated on the tallest chair he’s ever seen behind a large glass case that spends almost the entire width of the stall. The case itself is lined with a variety of objects, many look like they are just there for aesthetic purposes — small sculptures, tiny pieces of art, antique-looking jewellery. There is one section, though, that catches Soonyoung eye — a small collection of crystals, of different colours and sizes. He knows that the chances of these being _fuel_ crystals of any sort are extremely low; those wouldn’t be found in a stall any person could walk into but he can’t help but hope. 

They catch his eye but he knows not to let his gaze linger on them for too long, these stall owners are like sharks — if they catch even a whiff of interest Soonyoung will be stuck there the whole night and he’d really rather _not_. The man beckons him closer, his mottled green skin and bulging eyes makes him look a bit like a frog but Soonyoung chooses not to dwell on that. Or the way he kind of smells a bit like _swamp_ even though there is nothing green or wet for miles.

“You are looking for something, yes?” The man whispers, voice a little raspy around the consonants.

Soonyoung studies him for a second, taking in the way he is being watched by eyes that seem to know more than they let on. “I don’t know. Am I?” Soonyoung grins at him, all teeth and the man hisses.

“Don’t play dumb with me, young man. I _know_ that you are and I know _what_ you’re looking for.”

Soonyoung crosses his arms and leans forward on the counter, grin etched permanently on his face. “If you’re so smart, then why don’t you tell me, _old man_.” He straightens up and glances around at the store before returning his gaze to the frog-man. “You’re the one that called me over, after all.”

The man leers at him, thick yellow teeth double the size of a human’s grin back at him and it takes everything he has not to flinch away. “You meddle in things you shouldn’t, boy. You want for things you have no right to have.”

Soonyoung scowls. “And what is that, exactly?”

The man reaches into his shirt pocket and Soonyoung reflexively goes for his crossbow, fingers curling around the still-cool metal ready to fire should there be any sign of a weapon. The stall owner tuts at him and pulls out a small box instead, laying it carefully on the table. The box is pure white — much _too_ white for the likes of this decrepit stall somewhere in the middle of a sandy outdoor market — completely unmarked save for a tiny symbol engraved into the top. Soonyoung takes a step back, just in case, wary of the fact that it could be anything in that box.

“This is what you’re looking for, is it not?” The man smiles at him and it has a shiver running down Soonyoung’s spine in an instant.

“What? A pretty, engraved box? I could get that anywhere.”

“You know very well I’m not talking about the box,” the man snaps, his greasy salesman persona slipping for a second. “Open it. I can guarantee it is what you seek.”

Soonyoung, for all his fronting, falters because there is something in the man’s eyes that seems to see right through all of his false pretences and he feels almost exposed standing here in the middle of this empty stall, while the sun sets over some desert planet. The man quirks an hairless eyebrow at Soonyoung and he has to resist the urge to flinch. 

Gingerly, he reaches for the box, fingers skimming the edges of its oddly cool surface. There is a notch in the middle of the symbol and he presses on it. The box snaps open with a hiss and he immediately withdraws his hand, taking a step back as his muscles tense and ready to dive for the nearest cover should it suddenly blow up.

Fortunately, nothing happens and all he has to deal with is the cool, unamused look the old frog-man gives him when he hesitates another glance at the box. The box is still mostly closed, having only popped open slightly. Carefully, he opens the box and this time he doesn’t control the gasp that escapes him because there, nestled within the folds of some shimmery white material, sits a milky white crystal. Soonyoung doesn’t even need to do a scan to test whether the crystal is a potential fuel source because he can already feel the energy radiating from it. It is a strange sensation, light pulses of some kind of energy that has his hair feeling like it's standing on end. He thinks if he listens closely, he can hear a faint humming or buzzing coming from the crystal as well, soft and mellow, and maybe just a notch beneath a human’s range of hearing.

Immediately, he slams the lid shut, stemming the strange pulses that the crystal is emitting. “What is this?” He asks the seller, eyes wide. He still hasn’t taken his hand off the box but he would be a fool to do so anyway.

The old man smiles, eyes darting to the way Soonyoung’s fingers are curling around the box. “It is what you are looking for, is it not?”

“I— But— How did you—“ Soonyoung splutters. “You just happen to have _this_ lying around in your pocket?!” He freezes, eyes narrowing. “Who are you?”

The man waves off his question. “No one of importance. But I am right, am I not? This is what you seek.”

“I—“ Soonyoung trails off, not quite sure how to respond. He doesn’t know who this guy is, he doesn’t know if the guy knows who _he_ is, granted Soonyoung hasn’t removed his goggles and his mask is pulled down in a way that reveals only half of his mouth. 

“If I am right, and this is what you have been looking for, then take it. And be on your way.” The man nods towards the box. “I’ll take whatever you were originally willing to spend on it.”

Soonyoung’s eyes widen to the size of saucers as he looks between the seller and the box like the old man has grown another frog head or started croaking. “Ten thousand credits? You’re letting me have _this_ for ten thousand credits?!” Soonyoung knows he is getting loud, his voice coming out louder and slightly strangled, but this little crystal probably has enough energy in it to power his racer _and_ his ship for a couple hundred years, at least. He could use this crystal for the rest of his career and still be able to sell it to the highest bidder. This is insane, and definitely way too good to be true. He lets go of the box and retracts his hand, eyeing the man warily. “You can’t actually be serious!”

“Well, I _am_ ,” the old man says, leaning back to regard him coolly. “But if you keep making a fuss about it, I will rescind my offer and you will be left with _nothing._ Time to decide, boy.”

Soonyoung frowns, mind going at a thousand light years a second as his gaze constantly shifts from the old man to the box almost like he is expecting them both to disappear in front of him. Technically, he doesn’t have a reason to refuse, even if the man does have ulterior motives he gets to walk away with a certified fuel crystal for a mere ten thousand credits. He would be stupid to not take the offer. _You would also be stupid to take it,_ the Wonwoo voice in his head says again. _So, either way…_

“Fine,” Soonyoung huffs, slapping his palm against the counter. “I’ll take it.”

The man’s smile widens. “Smart kid. Now give me your hand.”

Reluctantly, Soonyoung holds out the hand his holowatch is strapped onto and watches as the man places his own holo against it. He takes a deep breath, considers one final time, before he presses his thumb against the face of the watch to authorise the deduction of ten thousand credits from Soonyoung’s digital wallet. He watches as the numbers tick in reverse from each other on the holo screens projected over both their watches and tries to swallow the bitterness in his throat that hits him. What’s done is done. It’s not like he hadn’t planned to spend the ten thousand credits anyway.

The screens blink off when the man returns his hand to him. “Pleasure doing business with you,” the man smiles, all teeth and grease and Soonyoung tries not to shudder as he smiles back.

“Likewise.” He grabs the box off the counter and slips it into one of the pouches holding his bolts. He is just about to walk away when a cold, slightly damp hand on his arm stops him and he turns to find the man looking at him.

“Remember what I said,” the man warns, his grip tightening when Soonyoung tries to pull away. “Take it, and _be on your way._ You’re stubborn but you’d do well to heed these words, boy.”

Soonyoung yanks his arm out of the man’s surprisingly strong grip, almost stumbling out of the stall from the recoil. He dips his head in acknowledgement, pretending that the man’s words didn’t just rattle him to his core. “Whatever you say, old man.” Soonyoung doesn’t look back but he feels the man’s gaze on him, like a faint dusting of fingertips on the back of his neck, until he finally loses himself in the crowd.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! As usual, I'd love to hear your thoughts about everything and anything so don't be afraid to leave any comments or questions you might have here or on my [cc](https://curiouscat.me/moonfleur_) 🌸
> 
> Also, kudos and comments keep starving writers fed so if you enjoyed this fic in any way please leave a kudos 💞


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Squeezing through the crowd, Soonyoung checks once more that the box is tucked safely away at the bottom of his bag of crossbow bolts before he takes a slight detour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are happening & Jihoon makes an appearance!✨

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Squeezing through the crowd, Soonyoung checks once more that the box is tucked safely away at the bottom of his bag of crossbow bolts before he takes a slight detour. Now, he’s not stupid, he knows that the man wholly believed the words he was saying, which means some part of Soonyoung knows that he should too. But the other — much louder and infinitely more stubborn — part really wants to check out the rest of the market. That part feels almost invincible — he’d gotten what he’d wanted _and_ he didn’t have to deal with some sketchy guy and his potential pack of goons. He figures he deserves at least a proper meal and some time to take in the sights and sounds of the now-teeming market.

The crowd seems to have doubled since Soonyoung entered the stall and he has to double check the time on his holowatch just to be sure he hadn’t been the victim of some weird trick that had somehow warped his sense of time. It definitely wasn’t a trick, but still enough time had passed for the atmosphere to do an almost full one eighty. It was like in the time he had spent arguing with the stall owner, the market had well and truly woken up — the colourful lights hanging overhead and from every awning before him drawing customers of every kind to it like moths to a flame. It is almost exhilarating; Soonyoung can almost feel the push and pull of energy as he walks through the throngs of people, the current of the life around him tugging at him like some kind of riptide.

Two aisles down from the one he had first walked through is where he finds the queue for the biggest burger (like thing) he has ever seen in his life. He is calling it a burger in his head but, like the meatballs, the description is in some kind of alien language that Soonyoung doesn’t have the mental capacity to parse out at the moment. Not that he is trying anyway. The fact that there is a queue to rival the size of the burger is all the convincing Soonyoung needs and he soon finds himself with a bag full of the strange bun and meat combo that smells a bit like heaven and a lot like cardiac arrest.

The sun has well and truly set by now and Soonyoung knows he should be making his way back to the ship but he also knows that if he doesn’t bring Wonwoo back a souvenir, he will never hear the end of it. So he sets off on his final mission, battling the crowd with one arm held protectively over the bag of food. He dips in and out of stalls whenever they catch his eye, he even makes small talk with some of the friendlier stall owners, and occasionally the customers. Nothing really catches his eye until he gets to a small stall with an awning that is pure black — a complete contrast to the rest of the stalls and their brighter, warmer-toned facades. 

The inside is also dark, like the awning completely blocks out all of the surrounding light, but Soonyoung is relieved to see that it isn’t nearly as pitch-black as he’d thought. There are a few other customers milling about but what really catches his eye is the store owner — some kind of being that looks like it’s constantly shifting between this plane and some other one, barely corporeal. It is completely enshrouded in some kind of all-black robe that matches the material of the awning except for the two glowing red pinpricks in the hood where its eyes should be. Soonyoung would be lying if he said the guy didn’t scare him a little. But on a scale of zero to the frog man earlier, he would still put this guy somewhere in between.

The stall itself is lined with tools and weapons of all kinds, most of them made from a shiny obsidian stone-like material that ripples with colours that shift depending on the angle he is looking at it. They remind Soonyoung of the surface of an oil spill except the colours are clearer and more elaborate. He heads straight for the section of the stall displaying all the knives, smiling when he finally spots what he is looking for — a dagger. One that looks like a much more refined version of the standard issue military combat knife Wonwoo usually carries on his person. The blade is the same strange obsidian material that all the store’s wares seem to be made out of, but the hilt is wrapped in smooth black leather and decorated with patterns of gold around its edges. It is beautiful and understated, exactly the kind of weapon Wonwoo will carry as someone who is the complete opposite of Soonyoung and who still prefers fighting with analogue weapons over Soonyoung’s fancy, modified versions. 

He picks it off the rack and is delighted with the way it lies, perfectly balanced in his hand. A high-quality weapon. Normally, he won’t even think about spending money on something as extravagant as this but he figures there is much that he owes Wonwoo. Not to mention that finding the fuel source has put him on quite a high, which has already loosened his holographic pouch strings.

Smiling to himself, he takes the knife to the counter and doesn’t even flinch when the man asks for a thousand credits. He figures he’ll make it all back and then some when he wins the races anyway. He slips the dagger into one of the holsters around his thigh, uncaring of the fact that it is too big to slide all the way in, and finally makes his way out of the market.

It is nearly pitch black outside the walls of the market — the twin slivers of Drega’s moons barely enough to illuminate the path back to his ship. Thankfully, his is the only ship in that particular lot, and it isn’t difficult to make out its silhouette against the backdrop of desert and sand dunes. He crosses the expanse of sand eagerly, feet naturally picking up speed until he crosses the threshold. Relief and gratitude bubbles up in him when he is finally able to unmask and remove his goggles. He presses a hand to the panel to shut the door behind him and takes a deep breath of the clean, relatively non-dusty air of the ship. He hadn’t realised just how much _sand_ had managed to bypass the meagre barrier that is his outfit, not to mention how much of it had gotten into crevices he wasn’t even aware existed. 

He takes off his hat, groaning when a pile of sand falls to the floor at his feet and he already knows he is going to be finding sand in everything for the next week at this rate. That doesn’t stop him from trying to dust himself off as best as he can before heading up to the flight deck though.

_“So, did you find anything interesting, Captain?”_ S asks, startling Soonyoung so hard he nearly slips back down the steps.

He clutches his heart and glares at the closest computer. “Warn a guy next time.”

He gets a few amused beeps for his troubles. _“My apologies.”_

Soonyoung scowls, she definitely doesn’t mean that but he answers her question anyway, pausing at the top of the stairs to check that he hadn’t knocked the food around too much. “I did, by the way. Find something interesting. I found a few things, actually. They have some really cool things here.”

_“And you didn’t end up getting yourself killed.”_ She sounds almost disappointed and Soonyoung has to resist the urge to give one of the panels a little kick.

He settles himself in the pilot’s seat. “Don’t need to sound so excited. Actually, I don’t think I’ll even need to stay till tomorrow.”

_“Oh? Does that mean you will be leaving now then, Captain?”_

Soonyoung pauses, considering whether he can stay the night and fly the next morning but the man’s words ring in his ears and he figures that he might already be pushing his worn-thin luck. “Yes, I think so. Start her up, S.”

There is a whirring and a beep that comes from the AI and then the ship is rumbling to life, the buttons on the flight console flashing their multitude of colours. Soonyoung stuffs the bag of food into one of the holders by his legs (he can eat once he’s handed the controls back to S) and straps himself in. He gives the market one last look, taking in the sprawl of multi-coloured awnings and strings of light that blink at him in the distance and the way that the light casts a warm, golden halo over the entire market. He wishes he could have stayed longer but between the man’s warning and the unease churning in his gut that tells him he shouldn’t overstay his welcome. Besides, he is more than ready to go home.

He puts his hand on the controls, the sensors lighting up under his palm, and then they are off. They push off from the ground and Soonyoung can make out the faint swirl of sand that gathers around them in their slipstream before he pushes it into gear and they climb up and up into the night.

They break through the atmosphere and, as usual, Soonyoung flies them a couple hundred miles away from the planet before he takes them to light speed. Only when they’ve finally settled, the planet nothing more than a blip in the distance, and S takes over does Soonyoung finally allow himself to relax.

He releases muscles that he hadn’t noticed were tense, gingerly rolling his shoulders until the stress begins to seep out of him. Carefully, he pulls the box out from his bag of bolts and holds it up to the light to study. He really wants to take a closer look at the crystal but the waves of energy it was giving off earlier were so strong he doesn’t know if he wants to risk it, especially not when they are at light speed — he doesn’t know the effect the energy will have on his systems and he doesn’t really want to find out. Not here, at least, not when he’s light years away from New Titan. He drags his fingers over the edges, over the lines etched into the cover, but he bites down on the urge to press down on them. 

He gives the box one last look before he places it down on the control panel and pulls out the knife from the holster, admiring the way that it gleams swirls of a million colours under the lights of his ship. It looks beautifully menacing and he feels a twinge of regret for not getting one for himself. 

_“Ooh. Those do look interesting don’t they?”_ S speaks up again suddenly and Soonyoung nearly spears himself in the thigh with the knife. He scowls in the general direction of her control box, swears she is out to kill him. _“What’s in the box, Cap?”_ she asks, completely unperturbed by Soonyoung’s reaction.

He sets the knife down carefully, resigning himself to the onslaught of questions he knows he is about to receive, and picks up the box again. “This,” he begins. “This is a crystal fuel cell. A real one.”

_“Is it for me?”_

Soonyoung winces internally. “No. Or… not yet! I will have to do some tests first…” 

S beeps sadly. _“You don’t have to lie. If it’s not for me, it’s not for me.”_

Soonyoung sighs, feeling horribly manipulated. “I’ll let you have a run on it, I promise.”

S beeps noncommittally but doesn’t say anything else and Soonyoung groans under his breath. For an AI she has become so adept at guilt-tripping him that he makes a mental note to look at her programming once the races are over. 

Grabbing his purchases, he heads into the cabin and unceremoniously starts pulling everything off his body and dumps them onto the bed, even the rest of his weapons. He stares at them for a second before deciding to just shove them all into the overnight bag he’d brought — they should be safe there. 

He is just slipping in the last of his knives into the duffel bag when there is a loud bang and the ship lurches forward so hard Soonyoung is flung backwards into the wall by the door. Pain immediately blossoms in his shoulder where it had made contact with the wall but he ignores itand pushes himself up off the floor. 

“What the fuck was that?” He yells.

_“Weapons fire, Cap.”_

“Weapons fire?! Who the fuck would be firing on us? Is it pirates? Smugglers?” What if it is the original seller of the crystal who has somehow found out that Soonyoung decided to bail instead of commit to the sale.

He turns his head to look out the window, wincing when the pain lances down his spine at the movement, and is met with the sight of a giant battleship. It is a brilliant, gleaming white in the near darkness of the light speed slipstream. It is also easily more than ten times the size of his ship and is definitely some kind of _official-looking_ vessel, which rules pirates out immediately. Although he wouldn’t put it past them to commandeer some fancy-looking recreational ship for their own purposes. This, however, is not a recreational ship. It is a full class battleship of some kind, a city on engines, something Soonyoung’s tiny little personal class ship is no match for.

They threaten with another shot, and Soonyoung is thrown against the wall a second time.

“For fucks sake!” Soonyoung snarls, clutching at his hip where it had reconnected with the wall. “What do they want?”

_“Establishing communications now.”_

There is a pause as S tries to connect with the battleship and then a voice crackles through the speakers, light and somehow almost musical even through Soonyoung’s cheap communication system. “You are in possession of something of ours. Drop out of light speed now!”

“What the fuck?” He answers, voice rising a good half octave higher when his shoulder spasms. “I don’t even know who you are? How would I even have something that belongs to you.”

“My name is Lee Jihoon, Commander General of the Imperial Astartian Army. You can’t lie to us,” the voice responds, firm and unyielding. “We’ve been tracking its signal. Now drop out of light speed and prepare to be boarded or we will continue firing.”

“Shit,” Soonyoung mutters, running a hand through his hair. His shields have been holding so far but he suspects the other ship is pulling it’s large, gunfire-laden punches and that anything stronger will have him floating in space in pieces. He rubs at his shoulder in irritation as he speaks again, raising his voice so that he can be heard. “Fine, I’ll drop out of light speed. But I swear to you that I don’t have whatever it is you think I do.”

“I will be the judge of that.”

The communication cuts off with a beep and Soonyoung groans.

“Take us out of light speed, S.” He grabs at the wall to stabilise himself, wincing when his shoulder twinges at the impact. Who the hell are these people? How could they fire on a vessel before establishing communication?

Soonyoung grumbles under his breath as he exits the room, stumbling slightly when the ship drops from light speed to his regular engines. In the window, he sees the battleship follow through, it’s large body shooting over his ship as they exit the slipstream a bit after him. It really is a beautiful ship; large, round, like a large, white pebble worn so smooth over time that it is absolutely nothing but a singular piece of… Whatever it is made out of. Then, there is something about the hull too that makes it look like it’s gleaming, almost like it is changing colour, faint wisps of it dancing across its surface. Part of him wishes he could have seen this ship under different circumstances because then maybe he could have had the chance to study it.

He shakes himself out of it; now isn’t the time to fantasise about taking apart the giant alien ship trying to kill him. In fact, he isn’t even going to let himself be boarded because who knows what they can do? Official vessel or not, they can still take him prisoner — easy to fabricate a crime when the victim knows nothing about your race — and there is no way Soonyoung is going to let that happen. He walks over to the flight controls, watching as the ship pulls a full one-eighty so that it can approach him head on. He is running out of time. 

Pacing up and down the length of his ship, he racks his brains trying to figure out what could possibly be giving off a signal. There shouldn’t be anything, nothing of Soonyoung’s is trackable, he’d made sure of it. So _what could it be?_ He is about a second away from pulling his hair out of his head when he sees it, the symbol on the hull of the battleship that he hadn’t noticed before — a diamond with a circle inside of it and two lines crossing through it — the same symbol that is on the box the crystal is kept in.

Cursing under his breath, he snatches the box off where it has been sitting on the flight controls, pressing his finger against the symbol. It pops open with a small hiss and Soonyoung immediately upends the box, dumping the crystal into the palm of his hand and ignoring the way it tingles against his skin. The movement causes the cloth underneath the crystals to shift and it is only then that he notices the row of lights flashing at the base of the box. Vaguely, he remembers the way the frog man had refused to touch the box once he’d opened it and he wonders if he had known that opening the box would have triggered some kind of beacon. 

_Take it and be on your way._ The words ring in his ears as the memory of his encounter comes back to him and he yells in frustration. Fuck, he had been so stupid. Of course the man had known the box had been tagged, he knew exactly what he was doing when he had offered it to Soonyoung. No one wants an entire armada after him after all. Stupid. It really was too good to be true, and even without the beacon on the box, the crystal is continuously giving off pulsing waves of energy so strong he was sure that anyone in its immediate vicinity with any kind of sensor will be able to pick up on it in an instant. 

He slips the crystal in his pocket, the energy having sufficiently irritated his palm that it was now sensitive and itchy all over. He wipes it on his shorts as though it will help to rid his skin of the traces of energy before he grabs the box and heads back down to the lower deck. Entering the kitchenette, he presses a palm to another panel, this one slightly large and yet also even more nondescript than the others dotted around the ship. 

It slides back to reveal a small space with a secondary panel set into the wall at the back of it. He dumps the box into it and presses a button on the wall above it. The panel closes and he can hear the gears whirring behind it. There is a loud slide of metal and thump followed by a sharp rushing of air before there is another slide and thump. 

When Soonyoung reopens the panel to check, the box is gone and he can only sigh in relief, slumping against the wall. Now that the beacon is taken care of, all he has to do is deal with the giant battle ship that is slowly lining itself up beside him. It’s even more massive from this distance close, though, and Soonyoung can’t even make out the top or bottom of it from where he is at his window. 

Part of him is kind of impressed that his ship’s shields haven't crumpled under the weight of their firepower but he also figures that they were just giving him warning shots and that if they really wanted to, they could have him disintegrated in seconds.

He watches for a second as the ship slides into place beside him until the exact moment it starts extending it’s boarding tunnel towards his door. Then he is racing back up the stairs and strapping himself back into the pilot’s chair, with about as much finesse as he can manage.

“Take us back to light speed,” he yells. Immediately, he can hear the rising hum of the engines as they warm up before their switch to lightspeed and he holds to whatever handhold he can grab a hold of as they are shot straight through the tear in space and back into the slipstream. He glances behind reflexively just to check, to see if the giant battleship had jumped into the slipstream after them, and he sags in relief against the straps holding him down to the pilot chair. Soonyoung had been banking on the chance that they wouldn’t be able to jump to lightspeed with their boarding tunnel extended and, as far as he was concerned he had been right and with the beacon left behind, he knows that if they get far enough, they shouldn’t be able to track him.

The crystal thrums against his thigh in his pocket and he decides that maybe he shouldn’t get too ahead of himself. Instead, he enters a new flight path into the controls, one that will take him across several solar systems before bringing him back home. A precaution — on the off chance that the alien battleship can somehow track the crystal’s energy through space. With that done, he finally slumps in his chair, pulling the crystal out as he releases the catch on his seat belt. He twirls the little crystal around his palm, careful to not let it touch any one part of his skin for too long a time. 

It is beautiful, the milky swirls within it almost look like they are actually moving beneath the surface. They kind of look like the hull of the battleship now that he thinks about it, which makes sense if the crystal came from their planet. The skin of his palm tingles and he shoves the crystal back into his pocket.

A small part of him can’t help but wonder at its real worth if they had sent a whole mothership after it. He thinks about the person he’d spoken to, how his desperation had bled through despite his very obvious efforts to keep it hidden. _Lee Jihoon, Commander General of the Astartian Army._ Soonyoung has never heard of them before, but they must be formidable if their battleship is anything to go by. And if the crystal is indigenous to their planet, he doesn’t even want to think about what they could be capable of technologically. He does resolve to look them up the minute he gets back to New Titan. Just in case.

Later on, as he lies in bed, he will wonder if maybe he should have just given up the crystal but then he also thinks of the amount of credits he had spent on it. He had paid for it fair and square, granted it was probably far less than it could have been worth. As far as he’s concerned, though, the crystal is his by default and, without the box, he should no longer be trackable. 

He slips the crystal back into his pocket and settles even more into his seat. The light speed slipstream rushes by outside the window, the lights of faraway stars stretching thin, becoming lines of light against the complete blackness of space and he allows himself to feel content, just this once. 

He is still sore from the attack, though, and he knows for a fact that he is going to wake up with a wicked bruise on his back and his shoulder, which is still throbbing from being thrown across his room, but at least he is alive. Plus, he now has a really cool story to tell Wonwoo when he gets back, even if it means that he will also be getting an equal serving of Wonwoo’s patented nagging for his troubles. 

He grabs the bag of food he’d stashed underneath the console earlier, stomach rumbling when the smell of food hits him. Overhead, music starts playing from the speakers and he smiles, telling himself the same thing over and over until he believes it.

He will be fine.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments keep authors happy and fed. Please feed your local writer today ♥︎


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For all of Wonwoo’s jabs, he is gentle when he actually applies the cream, taking extra care to not press too hard on the giant bruise that has taken shape across the entirety of Soonyoung’s back. This is what Soonyoung likes best about their friendship — they spend most of their time making each other’s lives hell but when it comes down to it, they are the ones that have each other’s back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a day late but it is out and _things are happening_ and I do hope you enjoy it!

When Soonyoung finally gets back to New Titan it is a good day and a half later. Not that the ship hadn’t been comfortable but the combination of being cooped up in an enclosed space with no one but himself and your ridiculous petulant AI — on top of the injuries that had become a kind of throbbing ache after the first twelve hours — he was ready to collapse into his bed and sleep for a good day or so. He would have made it back sooner too but he had chosen to take multiple detours in case the battleship had sent out feelers for him and he couldn’t risk bringing the wrath of an entire alien race (battleship) down on his own planet.

He dumps all his bags by the door, careful to set the bag of bolts containing the crystal carefully down on the kitchenette counter before he practically throws himself on the bed and buries himself in his sheets. He stays star-fished on top of the covers for a few minutes but the ache that’s been building in his body over the last couple of days has become a screaming crescendo and he eventually moves to fish around in his bedside drawer for the pain medication he always has on hand. He presses two capsules out and swallows them dry, too tired to even think about getting up off the bed let alone walking back to the kitchen for some water.

Eventually, the pain recedes to a dull kind of soreness, which gives him the energy he needs to get himself out of his clothes and under the covers. His watch beeps a few times, probably Wonwoo who would have no doubt heard of his return by now, but he ignores it. He knows his best friend is going to have a lot of questions about, well, everything, and he doesn’t think he will have the mental capacity to deal with that at the moment. The only thing his body is screaming for is sleep so, for once, he listens to it and succumbs to the darkness.

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Soonyoung is awoken by the sound of metal on metal and he groans, burying his head underneath his pillow in an attempt to drown out the noise. There are only two other people who have access to his apartment, Wonwoo and his dad, but he knows his father will never set foot in his apartment let alone a kitchen, even if you paid him to do it.

“What are you doing here, Woo?” Soonyoung grumbles into the sheets.

For a second he thinks Wonwoo doesn’t hear him but then he hears the sound of footsteps drawing nearer and he tugs the pillow over his head even tighter. “Someone had to make sure you’re not dead.”

He feels a weight sink onto the mattress and he groans, shoving blindly in the general direction of his best friend. “Well you’ve checked and I’m alive, you can go now.”

“And who’s gonna help you with these, huh?” He prods Soonyoung’s back, right where he knows there is probably a giant, purpling bruise, and Soonyoung yelps, arching away from him.

He scoots to the other end of the bed, putting as much distance between him and Wonwoo as possible. “What the hell are you doing? That hurts.”

“And whose fault is that?”

“Fuck off. It’s not like I asked to be attacked,” Soonyoung grumbles, turning so that he’s looking up and Wonwoo who is perched on the edge of his bed.

Wonwoo frowns. “You were attacked? What happened?”

Soonyoung sighs, rolling over so that he is lying face down on his bed again. “Got the fuel cell but it had a tracker on it. Some battleship found me.”

“What?” Wonwoo’s voice sounds slightly strangled so he turns just enough so that he can look at Wonwoo through one eye. “Kwon Soonyoung, I can’t hear you when you’re talking into your mattress.”

Soonyoung shoots him a glare but he turns so that his mouth isn’t pressed into the mattress. “I said, I got the fuel cell but there was some kind of tracker on it so a giant alien battleship found me. They shot me without even trying to communicate, the bastards.”

“Geez, Soon. Are you okay?” Wonwoo reaches over to brush a hand lightly through Soonyoung’s tangled strands and he relaxes, crawling forward until he can pillow his head comfortably in Wonwoo’s lap.

“M’fine,” he mumbles, eyes falling shut when Wonwoo continues to comb his fingers gently through his hair. “Just a little banged up.”

“More than a little I’d say,” Wonwoo says and Soonyoung doesn’t need to see him to hear the disapproval in his voice, clear as day. “You have a bruise the size of New Titan on your back and your shoulder has swollen to the size of my fist.”

Soonyoung snorts. “I knew that was gonna leave a mark.”

“Shut up, you idiot. Go wash up so I can put some cream on that bruise. You can tell me all about this trip of yours over breakfast.”

It is only then that he notices the smell of cooked breakfast and he smiles, eyes opening to look up at Wonwoo who is still half-scowling down at him. “You’re a lifesaver. What would I do without you?”

Wonwoo snorts. “Die, probably. Now, go. You stink and I’m hungry.”

Soonyoung laughs, which quickly morphs into a wince when he pushes himself up from Wonwoo’s lap; the ache from his travels well and truly settled deep into his bones now. “You’re such a grump when you’re hungry.”

Wonwoo scowls and nudges him with his knee, which earns him a yelp from Soonyoung. “Will you go please?”

“Fine.”

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

By the time Soonyoung is done with his shower, the food is cooked and laid out nicely on the desk, which is the only other surface in his apartment aside from the kitchen counter. Wonwoo is sitting on his bed, scrolling through his holo — probably catching up on the news or something equally boring — and Soonyoung makes a beeline straight for him. He picks a piece of sausage from one of the plates along the way, earning himself a disapproving glare, but he ignores it and settles on the edge of the bed in front of Wonwoo.

He is clad in nothing except a pair of sweats and the towel around his neck but Wonwoo barely flinches. Instead, he swipes his holoscreen closed and jabs Soonyoung in the side.

“Turn around,” he orders.

Soonyoung hisses. “Be gentle! Are you trying to help me or give me even more injuries.”

“I told you to be careful.”

“You’re being mean.”

“And you’re going to be the death of me. Now stop wriggling! The sooner I get this done the sooner it will stop hurting and the sooner we can eat.”

For all of Wonwoo’s jabs, he is gentle when he actually applies the cream, taking extra care to not press too hard on the giant bruise that has taken shape across the entirety of Soonyoung’s back. It still hurts though, the area still as tender — if not more — as the day he’d been flung against the wall of his cabin. He’s lucky that his back took most of the hit and not his head or he would be dealing with a lot worse than just a bruised back and sore body. He flinches when Wonwoo presses against a sore spot and Wonwoo is immediately apologetic, a complete one-eighty from the way he’d been treating him that morning.

This is what Soonyoung likes best about their friendship — they spend most of their time making each other’s lives difficult but when it comes down to it, they are the ones that have each other’s back. Even though Soonyoung chose not to follow Wonwoo into the military and despite Wonwoo turning down Soonyoung’s attempts to coerce Wonwoo into joining the Engineering Guild, it is still them, together, two against the world as they used to say when they were kids. Something that Soonyoung thinks is still applicable now, too.

“There. All done,” Wonwoo announces when he is finally satisfied that he has tended to Soonyoung’s injuries well enough. “Now, go put on a shirt before my eyeballs fall out.”

“You’re an ass,” Soonyoung retorts but he is already moving to grab a shirt from his wardrobe anyway.

Wonwoo laughs. “Someone needs to take you down a notch or two occasionally.”

Wonwoo is halfway through piling his own plate with eggs and sausages by the time Soonyoung gets back and he is quick to do the same; grabbing as much as he can possibly stuff onto the tiny metal plate that Wonwoo had laid out for them. Wonwoo settles himself on the floor by Soonyoung’s bed and Soonyoung joins him soon after, ignoring the dull throb of pain in his back when it makes contact with his bed frame.

They lapse into a comfortable silence for a while, Soonyoung grateful that Wonwoo had come by to cook because he hadn’t realised just how hungry he was until his apartment had filled with the smell of fried bacon. It is only after they both grab seconds (thankfully Wonwoo had had the foresight to cook extra servings) before Wonwoo finally asks the all-important question.

“So, what happened?”

At first, Soonyoung doesn’t answer, just looks at Wonwoo slightly sheepish while he pokes around at his eggs.

“C’mon. You know I’m not leaving till you tell what the hell went down out there.”

Soonyoung sighs; there really is no escaping Wonwoo when he gets like this. He puts his plate down on the ground and turns to his best friend, who is looking at him expectantly, fork half-raised to his lips. “Okay.”

Soonyoung recounts the events of the last three days to Wonwoo, not leaving out a single detail. Wonwoo listens to him, never interrupting except for the occasional hum of acknowledgement until Soonyoung is done with his story. His eyes widen to the size of Soonyoung’s horrible metal plates when he mentions the Astartian battleship and he figures that this isn’t the first time Wonwoo has heard of the race. Even then, he waits patiently until Soonyoung is finished before he speaks, carefully setting his own plate of food aside as well.

“So, you’re telling me that you _did_ end up finding a crystal fuel cell just not from the original seller.” Soonyoung nods. “And that fuel cell is the reason you were chased through light speed _and_ attacked and you still decided to bring the fuel cell back here instead of giving it back to them?!” He whacks Soonyoung on the arm. “Are you an idiot?”

“Hey, I _paid_ for that fuel cell fair and square! How was I supposed to know they were telling the truth and not trying to swindle me out of my crystal?”

“Oh my god. You _are_ an idiot. Have you not heard of Astartians?”

Soonyoung looks at him incredulously. “Obviously not? Who are they?”

Wonwoo runs a hand through his hair in exasperation. “They’re a really, _really_ , old race. One of the oldest, most advanced, races out there in terms of technology and well, civilisation in general. They very rarely get themselves involved in the issues of other planets. So if they were chasing you for that crystal then it must be something important.”

Soonyoung pales. “Do you think they’ll be able to find it? Find me? I tossed the box with the tracker out the airlock and I even took a couple of detours.”

Wonwoo regards him seriously for a second and Soonyoung almost thinks that he is going to say yes. That Soonyoung would be a fool to think otherwise. But Wonwoo only shakes his head. “As long as there isn’t some other form of beacon on the crystal, I don’t think they’ll be able to find you. Not to mention there’s nothing on your ship to hint that you came from here, right?” Soonyoung shakes his head. “You should be fine then, I think.”

Soonyoung exhales shakily and Wonwoo reaches over to give his arm a reassuring squeeze. “I can’t give up the crystal, Woo. It could be my one chance at winning the Races.”

“There are always other ways, Soon. You know that.”

Soonyoung glares at him half-heartedly. “Well, when you think of one, let me know.”

Wonwoo shakes his head but he’s smiling as he picks up his plate again. “So, what are you gonna do now? With the crystal, I mean. Can I see it?”

“Oh! Right. Yeah, hold on.” Soonyoung pushes himself up off the ground (with great difficulty) before going to retrieve the crystal and also the bag that holds Wonwoo’s dagger. He settles back into his place beside Wonwoo with both items in his lap.

He opens the pouch that he’d put the crystal in first and gives it to Wonwoo, who pears into it curiously. “Wow,” he breathes, eyes widening slightly when he looks back up at Soonyoung. “It’s beautiful. Can I touch it?”

Soonyoung nods. “Yeah. Just be careful, it emits some kind of energy and holding it against your skin for a long period of time just… feels weird.”

Wonwoo hums in acknowledgement before he’s reaching into the pouch and pulling out the small, milky white crystal. “Oh my god. I get what you’re saying. I can feel it.” He looks up at Soonyoung, sheer wonder and something that looks a lot like glee shining in his eyes — he looks like a child that’s just been given an entire tub of ice cream. “It tingles a little.”

“It tingles now, but hold on for too long and it starts to do more than tingle.” Soonyoung lifts his own hand to stare at his palm, unmarked, but he feels the phantom sensation on it just the same. “It almost singed my skin off.”

“What?” Wonwoo yelps, almost dropping the crystal. He catches it before it falls, though, and places it back in the pouch gently.

Soonyoung laughs, taking the pouch back from Wonwoo who is eyeing it like it had just insulted him and his entire family tree. “I was holding onto it tightly, and for a long time. It wouldn’t have done you too much damage I don’t think. Enough about the crystal though, I got you a gift.”

Wonwoo freezes. “You got me a present?” If Soonyoung had thought Wonwoo had looked excited before it is nothing compared to the way Wonwoo is looking at him now, eyes gleaming in anticipation like Soonyoung is about to give him the greatest prize on the planet.

“Please,” Soonyoung snorts. “You would have given me hell if I went to Drega and came back with nothing for you.”

Wonwoo shrugs. “True. Doesn’t mean you wouldn’t have done it though.”

“Touche.”

Soonyoung digs into the bag until his hand closes around the dagger. He already knows that Wonwoo is going to like it but seeing the way his eyes light up when Soonyoung brings it out of the bag fills his chest with a warm, fuzzy sort of feeling. He hands it to Wonwoo smiling when he all but snatches it out of his hand.

“Oh my god,” he breathes. “What the fuck, Soon.” He looks up then and Soonyoung is almost embarrassed when he sees just how shiny his eyes are. “Did you sell your soul for this or something? What is this even made out of?”

Soonyoung shrugs. “Honestly, I have no idea. But I saw it and thought of you so…” He trails off smiling sheepishly and Wonwoo’s expression morphs into something that makes him look like he is about a second away from stabbing him with the dagger.

“I know this was expensive, Soon,” Wonwoo says. “Why did you get me this.”

“I wanted to,” Soonyoung says, nudging Wonwoo’s feet with his. “And don’t worry, I didn’t sell my soul for this. I love you, but not that much.” He pauses. “Not sure I can say the same for the crystal though.”

Wonwoo laughs and if it comes out slightly watery, neither of them mention it. “Then you better make sure it was worth it then.”

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

Wonwoo leaves him after that claiming that Soonyoung needs more rest and Soonyoung spends the rest of the day drifting between sleeping and semi-wakefulness, only ever leaving his bed to grab the occasional bite of the food that Wonwoo had insisted on making for him before he left. They had talked a bit more after their breakfast, Wonwoo drilling him for more information on the battleship — _what did it look like, how big was it, did they speak English_ — which had left Soonyoung fondly exasperated. But Wonwoo had needed to get back to his base and Soonyoung was more than willing to listen to Wonwoo’s orders to sleep for the next twenty-four hours. He did promise that he would be there when Soonyoung runs his tests on the crystal, though, and that is how they find themselves, a day and a half later, in Soonyoung’s workshop.

As usual, the place is sweltering and Soonyoung had started sweating the minute he’d walked in despite his strategic choice of loose-fitting outfits. His racer is still standing at the far end, the tools he and Wonwoo had been using on it still strewn messily around it since neither of them had wanted to clean up after themselves that night.

Soonyoung picks up a stray wrench and a couple of other tools as he wanders around his workshop, dumping them into their respective drawers while Wonwoo sets up the testing equipment at the other end of the room. Their plan for the night is to run some tests on the crystal, just to see how much energy it can output, and if it can be properly funnelled so that it doesn’t accidentally blow up Soonyoung’s racer.

This is more Wonwoo’s area of expertise, having a preference for the more finicky, electrical aspects of engineering. It is why Soonyoung is letting him run most of the tests tonight. That, and the fact that he’d been bugging Soonyoung nonstop about wanting to run tests on it since the day he saw it.

The crystal now has its own bag — a thick black leather thing sealed magnetically at the top — which Soonyoung had found in the bottom of one of his drawers. He pulls the crystal out, noting the pulses of energy that never seem to die down — he’s realised that it pulses at a steady rate too and the sensation against his skin feels consistent, which has him thinking that the amount of energy it gives off each time has to be relatively constant. He still doesn’t know why it does that, or if it is some form of radiation. He had even tried looking it up, had tried looking up the planet actually, but there had been nothing about crystals anywhere on the intergalactic web.

He pulls the pouch out of his pocket and makes his way to where Wonwoo is setting up the last of the testing equipment, most of them unfamiliar because he had insisted on bringing some of his own, claiming that Soonyoung’s was too out of date. The last piece is a machine that looks a little like an open music box except where you would expect there to be a spinning sculpture of some kind is a metal claw. There are knobs on the side that Soonyoung knows will allow them to adjust the width of the claw so that they can fit the crystal within it.

The inside of the claw itself is lined with little sensors that will pick up on the energy that the crystal gives off and it will send it to whatever readers Wonwoo chooses to hook up to it. Right now, the machine is connected to two of them — one that will be able to read the type of energy and another that will be able to read the amount. While the amount of energy the crystal is giving off at the moment seems minimal, Soonyoung is a little afraid that the numbers will take a sharp turn once they fully activate it. Especially because he doesn’t know what the limits on Wonwoo’s readers are and if they will be high enough for the full extent of what the crystal can do.

“You sure your machines will be okay?” He asks as he comes up alongside Wonwoo who is busy organising and attaching cables to the machines.

“Positive. And if they aren’t I can always buy new ones.”

Soonyoung baulks a little; he had known Wonwoo was receiving relatively fair pay but these instruments are expensive. “You sure? At least let me chip in if you have to.”

Wonwoo looks up from where he’s recalibrating one of the readers. “I’ve been wanting to run tests on a crystal cell for ages. You know this. If my instruments get fried in the process then so be it. It’s not something I haven’t considered.”

Soonyoung shakes his head but he gives Wonwoo a fond smile. “Your skills are wasted in the army, you know that?”

Wonwoo shrugs. “They _need_ me in the army. In the Engineering Guild, I’ll just be one amongst hundreds of others who can do the same things I can, if not more.” He shoots Soonyoung a grin before returning to the reader. “Better to go where I’m valued.”

Soonyoung tuts. “You’ve always been too smart for your own good.”

“It’s something I take pride in, thanks. Now, come here. I need your crystal.”

Soonyoung sniffs as he takes the pouch out from his pocket. “I knew you only wanted me for my crystal.”

“Oh, stop being dramatic.”

Wonwoo grabs the pouch from Soonyoung and empties the crystal into his palm. He dumps the bag onto the table before moving to insert the crystal into the metal claw grip machine. Soonyoung holds his breath as Wonwoo flips the switch because this is _it_ , the moment he finds out if everything he’s suffered so far has been worth it. The machine lights up around its edges and the circle below the crystal glows a light turquoise as it begins to get a read on the energy signature of the crystal.

The pulsing from the crystal starts to get stronger and both Wonwoo and Soonyoung have to take a step away from it to lessen the strange churning in their guts. The readers light up and Soonyoung’s eyes flicker over to the one with a gauge that will tell him the current energy output of the crystal. The needle is swinging back and forth, alternating between the highest and lowest values violently. Soonyoung frowns but Wonwoo isn’t paying it any attention.

Wonwoo has his eyes on the reader in his palm — he must have grabbed it from the table before they had backed off — and he is frowning as the words on the screen rotate between what has to be several different types of energy.

They wait at the edge of the room until they are sure that the pulsing has been consistent for the last five minutes before Wonwoo walks over to the energy gauge.

“That’s five megawatts of energy,” he mumbles, mostly to himself as he studies the readings. He looks back at Soonyoung, who is still standing at the edge of the room watching Wonwoo take down notes from the instruments. “We could power our rail with this and the crystal isn’t even fully activated yet.”

“Holy shit,” Soonyoung mutters, taking a step forward.

“Yeah. Your racer could blow up.”

Soonyoung scowls at him. “Not where I was gonna go with that.”

Wonwoo shrugs. “There is good news, though. It seems that the crystal seems to put outputting some kind of nuclear reactive energy, which should make it compatible with your racer engine. You’ll need to create an adaptor of some sort, of course, to hold it in place and streamline the energy. But, if you want, I think we could try hooking it up to your racer as long as we don’t fully activate it.”

He looks at Soonyoung questioningly and Soonyoung pauses, thinking of all the potential outcomes of hooking up an unknown energy source to his engine. Worst case scenario is that it blows up and takes the entire city with them, which, if they keep the crystal in its current state, should not happen. The best-case scenario is that they should be able to get enough readings to help them figure out a way to channel the energy in usable quantities, _and_ in a way that won’t cause any explosions, large or otherwise. Whichever the case, they _will_ need live readings or he won’t be able to use the crystal at all, which will ultimately defeat the purpose of him having it in the first place.

Soonyoung takes one look, recognises the slight pleading look in his eyes and caves knowing a lost cause when he sees one. “Fine. Do your tests. They have to be done anyway. Just, please, don’t accidentally activate the crystal. We don’t know the damage it could do.”

Wonwoo throws him a dirty look as he starts powering down all the machines, the lights flickering off slowly until the only glow left is from the crystal itself. “Please, Soon. Have a little more faith in me. I am your lead mechanic after all.”

“Jeez,” Soonyoung mutters, not missing the smirk thrown his way afterwards. He calls Wonwoo his lead mechanic in an interview _one_ time and he never hears the end of it.

Wonwoo brings all the instruments over to where Soonyoung’s racer is, effortlessly popping off the bottom panel with his free hand as he settles on the ground beside the ship. Soonyoung grabs a couple of the creepers they use when they need to get at the panels on the underside of the racer and drags them over. He nudges Wonwoo with the edge of one before dropping it beside him.

Soonyoung puts his own creeper down and lies on it, flinching when the cold of its metal surface bleeds through his shirt. He rolls himself under the racer and pops open another panel with a press of his palm against its surface. This one is under the engine proper, a whole system of wires and pipes and tubes piping in different liquids only to convert them into energy for the racer to use. Carefully, he reaches between the network of pipes and removes the sections that connect to the fuel tank, remembering to seal them off before he gets a face full of engine fuel.

In the middle of the actual engine itself there is a little compartment full of wires and clamps — a space for other forms of fuel cells like crystals or fusion batteries. He opens it, spluttering when a heap of dirt and grit falls onto his face. Cursing under his breath, he wipes it off as best as he can while trying to not think of the bits that had managed to get into his mouth before he nudges Wonwoo with his foot.

“Hey, Woo. Can you pass me some of those wires with the clamps, I found the compartment for alternative fuel cells and it _looks_ like the crystal could fit in there but I don’t want to risk anything happening right now.”

“Good idea.” Wonwoo shoves a handful of wires underneath the body of the racer at Soonyoung who receives them with a muttered ‘thank you’. He attaches the ends of the two of the wires to the clamps set into the back of the compartment, leaving the opposite ends hanging out of it.

He slides out from under the racer and sits up with a low groan. “So, how are we gonna do this?”

Wonwoo looks up at him from where he’s fiddling with the cables connecting the reader instruments to the holding machine. “Um…” He looks back down at the machine before looking at the racer and then back at Soonyoung. “You’re probably going to have to take the crystal, while it’s in this machine, and connect it to the clamps you have set up. Once that is set up, I’m going to need you to turn on the engine of the racer for me. Slowly, and on my mark only. I’ll take the readings then. If my machines don’t blow up first,” he adds under his breath.

Soonyoung grabs the machine from Wonwoo, giving his shoulder a squeeze as he does. “They’ll be fine. And if they’re not, we’ll buy new ones like we said earlier.”

“Yeah. Honestly, I’m more worried about us turning New Titan city into a giant crater.”

Soonyoung winces. “Let’s not think about that for the moment, hm?”

He lies back down on the creeper and edges back underneath the racer but this time just a bit off to the side from where the wires are hanging down out of the engine. He places the machine with the crystal down on the ground underneath the open panel and attaches the wires as carefully as possible to the bit of it still poking out from between the clamps. The crystal pulses once when it connects, which makes Soonyoung’s head spin, but it fades almost immediately.

Soonyoung checks that the clamps are secure and that the machine is on one last time before he slides back out from under the racer.

“You good?” Wonwoo asks, and Soonyoung nods in affirmation. “Okay, good. Now go up into the cockpit and wait for my signal.”

Soonyoung nods again and proceeds to haul himself up onto the wing of the racer, which shakes a little from where it’s being lifted up off the ground with hydraulic pumps. Slowly, he crosses the wing until he gets to the body proper. He presses his palm to one of the glass window panels and the dome over the cockpit pops open, hinging upwards along the backside of the cockpit. The racer shakes a bit more violently with the movement and Soonyoung has to grab a hold of the glass so that he doesn’t go tumbling over the side.

He slips into the cockpit, leaving one foot propped against the edge in case he needs to get himself out of it fast. The racer trembles again and he prays that the hydraulics don’t give out before they get their readings.

“You ready?” He calls out, thumb hovering over the thumb pad that will start the racer up.

“Yup!” Wonwoo shouts back. “Remember, on my mark.”

Soonyoung waits, ears trained completely on Wonwoo.

“3, 2, 1. Mark.”

Soonyoung presses his thumb against the pad the minute Wonwoo says ‘mark’ and the engine flares to life causing the entire racer to shake beneath him so much that he has to brace himself against the edge of the cockpit so that he doesn’t fall over. There is nothing for a while and then suddenly the crystal releases a pulse of energy so strong that Soonyoung doubles over, the churn in his gut about a hundred times worse than anything he’s ever experienced.

He hears Wonwoo cry out and then there’s the sound of glass shattering — the instruments. His head begins to spin as the crystal starts emitting waves of energy so powerful he doesn’t know if he wants to throw up or pass out. He clutches at his stomach as his knees buckle.

“Shut it off!” Wonwoo yells.

Soonyoung slams his thumb against what he can only hope is the thumb pad, his vision already beginning to go black at the edges. Thankfully, it is. The racer’s engine immediately shuts off but the crystal is still pulsing, and he collapses into the pocket, his knees finally giving out beneath him.

“Make it stop!” He yells at Wonwoo.

“How?!” Wonwoo returns, desperation colouring his voice.

It is then that the crystal gives off the largest pulse it’s ever produced and then everything goes black.

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

When Soonyoung comes to it is in the cockpit of his racer, the brightness of the workshop reduced to the dull glow of the lights that are powered by its backup generator. He groans clutching his head as he pushes himself up onto the seat from where he’d collapsed on the ground.

“Wonwoo?” He calls out croakily his throat feeling it has been rubbed raw with sandpaper. He only gets a muffled grunt in response followed by the sound of multiple things clattering to the ground. “Woo. You okay?”

“No. Feel like I’ve been run over by a train.” His voice is scratchy and Soonyoung wonders if that is what he sounds like too.

“Is the crystal still pulsing? I can’t tell anymore.”

There is the sound of more shifting, Wonwoo sitting up probably. “I don’t think so. But I’m pretty sure it killed the power to this entire section of the city.”

“Oh fuck,” Soonyoung breathes, letting his head fall back against the seat of the cockpit. “Are we in trouble?”

“Not yet. As far as I know, no one knows what’s caused it yet.”

“Let’s hope it stays that way.”

They remain silent for a while, as they allow their minds and bodies to regain full consciousness. The air in the room is dank and heavy, the absence of power slowing down the already shitty ventilation. The humidity is getting to him too, making him feel even heavier, slower like he is in some kind of oxygen-deprived high. He thinks he even passes out again for a while until Wonwoo’s voice rouses him.

“Hey, uh, Soon. You might wanna come take a look at this.”

“Hmm?” He tries to shake his head to clear it but that only serves to make him feel dizzier. “What is it?”

“I don’t know but… I think the crystal is glowing.”

“The crystal always glows,” he mumbles grumpily, eyelids already threatening to fall shut again.

“Not like this, Soon. It’s lit up like a fucking beacon.”

Soonyoung bolts upright, ignoring the current of pain that runs throughout his entire body at the action and the way the room seems to spin around him. “What?!” He pulls himself out of the cockpit despite the way his muscles feel like they weigh about a tonne each. He drops from the wing and his knees buckle, smashing into the hard metal of the floor.

“Fuck,” he hisses under his breath but he is back on his feet and sliding under the racer in less than a minute. Wonwoo was right. While the crystal had only given off the faintest, pale white glow before it was now a brilliant white, strong enough for Soonyoung to have to shield his eyes against it.

He removes the wires from the crystal first but nothing happens so he tries to remove the crystal from the machine but it nearly sears his skin off with how hot it is. He swears under his breath, squinting at it from behind his hand as he tries to figure out how to get it to stop doing… whatever it is that it’s doing.

He is halfway towards grabbing a pair of forceps to remove the crystal when the crystal starts humming. It is so subtle that Soonyoung doesn’t notice it at first but then he hears it — a consistent low hum at a frequency that is so at the edge of his range of hearing that he sometimes isn’t sure if he’s hearing anything at all.

“Do you hear that?” He calls out to Wonwoo softly.

“Yeah. What is it?”

“I don’t know. It’s never done that before.” But it only means he needs to get it out of the machine _now._

He reaches out, feeling the ground around the racer for the forceps he’d seen lying there before. His hands have just closed around it when his watch beeps, so loud and shrill in the weird silence blanket that had fallen over them that it gives him a fright, and he jerks back knocking his head against the underside of the racer. He is about to complain about impeccable timing when his watch beeps again and, this time so does Wonwoo’s. Both beeps are followed by an electronic female voice that comes from both their watches.

_Attention. Unidentified outgoing signal detected._

Soonyoung freezes, his gaze immediately returning to the crystal before he groans, dropping his head against the metal of the creeper under him in exasperation. Outside, he can hear Wonwoo swearing as he comes to the same conclusion Soonyoung did.

He lowers his head until it thuds against the creeper with a groan _._ “Oh fuck.”

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for reading!💞 
> 
> Kudos and comments are, of course, always appreciated and give me life <3 Plus, I would love to know your thoughts on this fic so far so feel free to leave them in the comments or on my cc!♥︎


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What do we do?” He asks quietly when his brain has proven that it isn’t completely out of commission. He glances at Wonwoo, whose gaze is still kind of glassy as he stares at the crystal… or maybe the far wall behind the crystal. He can't really tell anymore. “I think...Maybe… This thing is sending out some kind of… homing signal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! We are finally on chapter 5 and _things_ are happening! I tried my best to edit this chapter but I don't think my brain was working very well so any mistakes and inaccuracies are my own and I apologise.
> 
> That aside, I hope you do enjoy this chapter :)

Soonyoung panics. In the barest sense of the word but he does. He reaches for the forceps again and uses it to pull the crystal out of the machine. That does nothing to stop the humming, though, nor the warning blaring from both of their watches. He shoves the forceps with the crystal out from under the racer in what he hopes is Wonwoo’s general direction.

“Take it!” he yells, voice rising by a good half-octave in his current state.

For a second he thinks Wonwoo doesn’t hear him, or worse, is ignoring him but he feels the forceps being removed from his grip and a part of him nearly sags with relief. Of course, there is the whole matter of the outgoing signal that they have to attend to _and_ the fact that the crystal is still white-hot and humming despite being disconnected from the machine.

He pushes himself out from under the racer, moving around it to find Wonwoo staring at the crystal (which has thankfully started dimming since being removed from the machine) like he’s holding the fanged end of a poisonous creature. Wonwoo’s turns to him slowly and, even under the rays of light being emitted by the crystal, Soonyoung can tell he looks pale — his eyes blown wide as he holds the crystal away from him.

“Why is it doing this?” He half whispers and Soonyoung immediately rushes forward to grab the crystal from him in case he passes out, which he looks about a second from doing. It is only then that he realises the crystal is no longer pulsing with waves of energy. It must have stopped when they shut the engine off. Or when it started humming. To be honest, Soonyoung isn’t really sure anymore at this point and his head still feels like a heavy, swirling mass of liquid. His body isn’t faring any better either — the pain from his injuries have returned tenfold and the churning in his gut hasn’t really stopped despite the absence of the crystal’s pulsing energy.

He figures Wonwoo must be handling it a lot worse than him since he has technically been exposed to the energy for a lot longer than Wonwoo has and has probably built up some kind of resistance. He holds the crystal in the hand furthest from Wonwoo while gripping Wonwoo’s shoulder with his free hand.

“Hey,” he says, squeezing lightly until he sees a more solid kind of focus return to his eyes. Wonwoo blinks at him slowly. “You with me?”

Wonwoo swallows, glancing between the crystal and Soonyoung before he nods. Soonyoung exhales heavily, feels as all the adrenaline leaves him in that one breath, and collapses on the ground beside him. He grabs Wonwoo’s watch to shut off the signal alert and does the same for himself before he finally takes stock of their current situation. He tries to process it, playing back the events of the last couple of hours in his mind as he tries to come up with a possible solution.

“What do we do?” He asks quietly when his brain has proven that it isn’t completely out of commission. He glances at Wonwoo, whose gaze is still kind of glassy as he stares at the crystal… or maybe the far wall behind the crystal. He isn’t really sure of anything at this point. “I think...Maybe… This thing is sending out some kind of… homing signal.”

“A homing signal,” Wonwoo repeats, the words coming out slightly slower than usual as though his brain and mouth are moving at different speeds. Soonyoung immediately regrets his decision to involve Wonwoo in this. Even though he knows his friend would have never let him live if he had run the tests without Wonwoo, he can’t help but think that it might have been better to deal with a thoroughly pissed off Wonwoo than to see him in this state.

He places a hand on Wonwoo’s knee as gently as possible, ready to pull away if Wonwoo so much as flinches but he remains still, gaze still fixed on some non-existent point. “Hey. Wonwoo. You don’t have to stay, you know? This is my mess, I should be the one to clean it up. I brought the crystal back after all.”

This seems to snap Wonwoo out of it somewhat, his gaze clearing slightly as he levels a look at Soonyoung that would put many of his teachers to shame — and that’s saying something when he thinks about how many times he’d been on the receiving end of one of those looks. “You are _not_ doing this alone, Kwon Soonyoung. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this. I was just as excited to run the tests as you were. Maybe even more. Even though I knew that this could happen.” He pauses. “Or worse.”

Soonyoung sighs. “I know. But you look like shit.”

Wonwoo snorts, head thumping against the body of the racer as he leans back. “You don’t look so great yourself, you know.” He casts a glance sideways at Soonyoung and his lip twitches. “I reckon I’m still better looking than you, though.”

Soonyoung huffs out a laugh, which comes out a lot closer to a wheeze because his chest feels like it is about to collapse in on itself. “In your dreams.”

They lapse into silence for a while, mainly to catch their breaths again before Soonyoung says, “So what do we do now? The signal has probably alerted every Astartian vessel on our side of the galaxy and it doesn’t look like it’s stopping any time soon too.”

“I don’t know. But there has to be a way we can dampen it somehow. Put it in a lead-lined box or something, although I’m not sure if lead is the right element for whatever it is giving out.” Wonwoo frowns. “Whatever the case is, I think we should prepare for a visit from an Astartian vessel. Even if we do manage to dampen the signal, New Titan is still the last place the crystal was seen transmitting from.”

“Fuck,” Soonyoung groans, the word dragging out as he buries his head in his hands. “This is going to be a nightmare. The Council—“

“Let me handle the Council,” Wonwoo interrupts. “My standing with them is a right sight better than yours will ever be, regardless of who your father is.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence there,” Soonyoung says scowling from between his hands. Although there isn’t any real heat behind it because Wonwoo is right. The Council has been consistently less-than-impressed with Soonyoung despite everything he’s achieved both within and without the Engineer’s Guild. Then again, Soonyoung has never really cared for the Council much anyway.

“You know I’m right,” Wonwoo says, echoing his thoughts. “You’ve caused enough trouble for your father and the Council as it is.”

Soonyoung scoffs, shooting Wonwoo a disparaging look. “It’s not my fault they’re a bunch of traditionalists with backbones that would sooner break than bend. You’d think that they’d learn to be a lot more open to change by now.”

Wonwoo snorts. “Now, you know that will never happen. Not if the Council doesn’t start taking in younger members. But that’s not the point.” Wonwoo waves a hand at him. “The point is, whatever happens, _I_ will handle the old geezers. _You_ , on the other hand, have to figure out how to hide the signal from the Astartian vessel when it does arrive. Unless, of course, you’re going to give up the crystal?”

There is a glint in Wonwoo’s eyes as he raises an eyebrow questioningly but Soonyoung takes the bait anyway. “We’ll see. This is my ticket to winning the races, after all. I’m not about to throw it away like that.”

Wonwoo shakes his head at the determined look on Soonyoung’s face. “And what if the crystal turns out to be some kind of National Astartian treasure or something?”

“Then it shouldn’t have been in a stall in the middle of the largest market in the galaxy.”

Wonwoo shoves at him with his shoulder. “You’re the worst.”

Soonyoung laughs and pushes himself up off the floor, ignoring the way the room spins when he does. “Tell me something I don’t know. Now let’s go,” he holds a hand out to Wonwoo who takes it. “We have some damage control to do.”

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

First thing on their agenda, however, is to get some food down them — after having been put through the great physical stress of the last couple of hours, they were in dire need of anything that could give them energy. Because, even though Wonwoo had confirmed that the type of energy released by the crystal was relatively harmless to them, it had still given them both huge shocks to their system. Shocks that would, ultimately, take them a while to recover from.

They leave the workshop in the state that it is in only to find that the entire section of the city surrounding the workshop had suffered massive power failures as a result of their experiment. Thankfully, being an underground city, they had long-since learnt to not rely on a single source of energy. This meant that most public places and transport systems had backup generators or alternative sources of power.

That doesn’t mean that they didn’t emerge to a city plunged in near-darkness, though, because they do. The entire section of the city surrounding the workshop is lit only by the little emergency bulbs that line the bottom of each walkway and catwalk, all of which are packed full of people trying to make their way to the different emergency exits in the dark. Steeling themselves, they join the teeming mass of bodies.

In the end, they choose to return to their own respective apartments — Soonyoung for a much needed shower and a very hurried meal, Wonwoo for mainly the same things except he had tacked on the expressed need to just _pass the fuck out._ Soonyoung doesn’t blame him though, as much as Wonwoo had tried to convince Soonyoung that he was okay, Soonyoung had seen through his ridiculous facade with the ease granted by over twenty years of friendship. They had agreed to meet back at the workshop in three hours anyway, just to be safe, because if Soonyoung was to estimate how soon the Astartian battleship will arrive using its last known location, he’d probably give them around twenty hours. Tops. And that is _if_ they travel at the same factor of lightspeed he does, which they probably don’t, if the state of their battleship had been anything to go by.

Thankfully, by the time they’d left, the crystal had cooled down enough for Soonyoung to put it back in its pouch. It was still doing its weird glowing and humming thing, though. Soonyoung leaves it on his kitchen counter in favour of making himself a sandwich from the sad selection of ingredients he has in his refrigerator before he collapses on his bed.

He pulls up his watch’s holoscreen, deciding to not waste the precious time they have, to look up potential dampening materials. They don’t have much time (or money) so he can only hope that there is a material that is both affordable, easily obtainable, and will be able to dampen the crystal’s signal enough that their sensors don’t pick it up.

He scrolls through multiple lists and articles but is unable to find anything that doesn’t immediately suggest lead or some other obscure element that can only be found on certain planets in oddly specific solar systems. Soonyoung grumbles around his final mouthful of sandwich, swiping through his holoscreen with such force that he would have broken it had it been a physical screen. Nothing. He thuds his head against the headboard multiple times in frustration because there _has_ to be something. Something that can either cause the signal to rebound or dissipate.

He is about to bury his head in the sheets (greasy fingers be damned) from the sheer futility of his search when he is struck with a sudden idea. Immediately, he turns his attention back to the holoscreen and types in the words ‘ _unusual places new titan’_ into the giant floating search bar. He knows, being an underground city, many of the results will show him the multitude of underground lakes and rock formations that the citizens of New Titan frequent. But he also vaguely remembers hearing about an abandoned cave system of sorts, where people were said to have experienced strange instances involving technology.

He scrolls past all the tourist deal trap sites and some lists naming the more popular hotspots until he finally gets to a result titled _‘Cave of Silence’_. It takes him to a web page that talks about a place on the outskirts of the Lower Levels somewhere to the South that has taken the lives of many adventurers in the past who had thought of exploring the cave system using digital maps only to have all forms of technology fail upon entering its deeper reaches. The website also tells him that they believe the system of caves to be a mine of sorts, until the Council had deemed it too dangerous and suspended all activity. According to the site, they had been mining _silexite,_ a naturally occurring mineral found on New Titan.

Soonyoung freezes, hand hovering over the holoscreen as the cogs in his energy-depleted brain try their best to link everything together into what he hopes is a feasible solution. _Silexite._ If a cave system full of silexite can interfere with their technology then it would make sense that the mineral, in its purest form, might do the same thing. _And_ if it was a mineral native only to New Titan, then it would make sense that the intergalactic web wouldn’t have much information on it.

He pulls up New Titan-specific web pages and finds that it is used mostly for locations that require some kind of dampening field — x-ray rooms, laboratories and certain places in government buildings — which explain why there is so little information about this material in general. Soonyoung silently thanks the universe that it is a mineral natural to his own planet and then he prays that it won’t be as expensive as it seems.

He’ll have to tell Wonwoo about this. Maybe, with Wonwoo’s security clearance, he’ll be able to find out how they can get their hands on some of the mineral. Thinking of Wonwoo reminds him that he still feels like absolute shit and that a good rest will probably do him some good. He swipes his holoscreen close, licks his fingers clean and slaps a palm over the panel beside his bed to shut off the lights. His fingers automatically move to set his alarm and then he is out.

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

When Soonyoung finally meets up with Wonwoo back at his workshop there is a marked improvement in his best friend’s appearance that Soonyoung is relieved to see. They both still look like the wrong end of a crashed spaceship but he figures that they at least feel better than they look — a thought instantly backed by Wonwoo happily putting him in a headlock in greeting.

Soonyoung tells him of the mineral while they clear up the mess of the workshop (he pointedly avoids the area near the front of his racer where the broken instruments lie) and Wonwoo nearly drops the crate of tools he’s carrying to the storage panels at the back of the room.

“Come again?” He says, staring at Soonyoung like he’d just told him he was quitting racing.

Soonyoung frowns at his reaction. “Silexite? Why? Does it sound familiar to you?”

Wonwoo drops the crate of tools on the ground and starts putting them back into their respective storage panels. “Yeah? Most of the high security offices are lined with the stuff, and some of the detention barracks too. Fuck, why didn’t I think of that?”

Soonyoung laughs, grabbing the giant sweeper he usually uses to clean up messes and gets to work on the glass shards that now litter the floor. “You’ve literally been unconscious for the last couple of hours before which you were basically hit in the head with the largest blast of energy to ever hit the city. I think you can cut yourself some slack.”

Wonwoo drops a wrench into one of the drawers. “You’re right, I guess. Man, that crystal took a lot out of me. I feel like it pulsed my own energy right out of my body. If we didn’t have a giant Astartian battleship incoming I would have slept for the next week.”

Soonyoung hums. “Tell me about it. When they leave I’m gonna sleep for a _month_. Screw the projects I have at the Guild.” He yawns as if to prove his point. “Sleep deprivation aside, do you think you could get your hands on some of the silexite? Just enough to line the small box.”

“Probably?” Wonwoo frowns, stuffing the now empty crate into one of the larger storage panels. “I know we have scientists back at the base who work on the stuff. I could try and ask them? They’d probably be able to make a lining in an hour.”

“Please do,” Soonyoung says as he fiddles with the sweeper nervously. “That’s probably the only chance we have. I’m gonna try and find a lead lined box too just so we have extra protection.” He pauses, sweeper hovering over a spot on the floor. “I’m sure I have one lying around somewhere actually.”

He props the sweeper up against the wall as he proceeds to rummage through the multiple storage panels that line the walls of his workshop while Wonwoo brings up his holoscreen — presumably to send a message to his contact at the base.

It doesn’t take Soonyoung long to find the box — a small nondescript dark metal box that looks a lot like some kind of old-fashioned ring box whose insides have been painted with a few layers of lead paint before being lined with a softer, velvet material. He presents the box proudly to Wonwoo who frowns when he notices its strangely lavish interior.

“Why does this look like a jewellery box?” Wonwoo asks, eye flickering between the box and his constantly updating holoscreen.

“Because it is one,” Soonyoung says smugly. “I wanted a prettier box that was also functional just in case.”

“In case of what?” Wonwoo looks at him incredulously.

Soonyoung shrugs. “I don’t know. But hey, we need it now so...”

Wonwoo shakes his head as he returns his attention to the holoscreen, brows furrowing slightly. “Only you would do something like that.”

That has Soonyoung laughing as he comes up behind Wonwoo to peer at the holoscreen hovering over his arm. “Any news?”

Wonwoo sighs. “Doyoung, one of the scientists who works with the mineral, has agreed to work on a lining but…” Wonwoo runs a hand through his hair in frustration. “He’s asking for a lot because whatever he uses will have to come from the current stock that he has. This means it will set his experiments behind until he can bring in some more.”

Soonyoung frowns. “Then we’ll pay him. Whatever he’s asking.”

“It’s a couple thousand, Soon.”

Soonyoung has to stop himself from visibly wincing at the amount. “I’ll pay. I have enough saved from my winnings.”

Wonwoo turns to him, brows creasing as he shuts down the holoscreen. “I can’t let you do that. That’s your savings.”

Soonyoung shrugs, feigning nonchalance in a way he knows that Wonwoo will see through. “It’s fine. Savings are meant to be spent anyway.”

Wonwoo sighs, frown deepening. “I don’t think that’s how it works.”

Soonyoung places a reassuring hand on Wonwoo’s shoulder as he offers him a smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll make it back when I win right? Tell Doyoung we accept.”

“Fine,” Wonwoo says resignedly as he pulls his holoscreen back up. “But, whatever happens, it’s on you.”

Soonyoung gives his shoulder a squeeze. “Isn’t it always?”

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

The next hour passes by slowly and completely uneventfully, Wonwoo leaves halfway to meet Doyoung while Soonyoung spends the rest of it lounging in the cockpit of the racer. That’s not to say that he hadn’t been productive; he had told Wonwoo that he would be installing the lining himself and so he had set up the equipment needed on the one workbench that had survived the crystal’s destructive energy surge.

When Wonwoo comes back, he finds Soonyoung seated comfortably in the cockpit, legs hanging out over the side as he scrolls through a shop full of different kinds of reading instruments. He is carrying the lining — sealed properly — in one hand, and a large bag of takeaway food in the other. Almost as if on cue, Soonyoung’s stomach lets out a loud gurgle as the smell from the food wafts over and he groans dramatically, swiping his holoscreen closed.

“You are a godsend, Jeon Wonwoo. Has anyone ever told you that?”

“Only about a hundred times,” Wonwoo says from where he is laying out the food on the workbench and Soonyoung can hear the smirk in his voice even from across the room. Something in him loosens at the obvious inflection, relieved that Wonwoo is that much closer to being back to his normal, scathing self.

He successfully disentangles himself from his seat and hops to the ground. Wonwoo is just about done setting everything up around his equipment when he gets there, leaving one corner of the workbench for the food. He sniffs the air in anticipation when Wonwoo opens up a takeout bag and he swears his knees nearly give way from the sheer force of his hunger that hits him.

“Holy shit, is that from that burger place?”

Wonwoo shoots him a grin. “You know it.”

Soonyoung nearly cries. He hadn’t really realised how hungry he was, his body burning its way through whatever he’d eaten earlier in an attempt to recover from the shock. He moves to reach for the bag but Wonwoo smacks his hand away.

“You. Line the damn box. Don’t look at me like that. It will literally take you another ten, maybe fifteen, minutes.”

“But—“ Soonyoung starts but Wonwoo hushes him again.

“Ah. Ten minutes. Besides if you eat now you’re gonna grease all over the box and the lining, which was _expensive_ , let me remind you.”

“Fine. Fucking killjoy. But feed me a couple of fries first because I feel like I’m going to pass out.”

Wonwoo snorts but reaches into the bag for a few pieces that he diligently feeds Soonyoung. “You’re such a drama king. Now, go. The sooner you do that, the sooner we’ll be able to get the crystal out of your pocket and into something that will block its signal.”

Soonyoung rolls his eyes but moves towards the workbench, analysing the lining and where it should go. He is nothing if not methodical when he works, falling into what Wonwoo likes to call a near-trance state where there is nothing except for him and the piece he is working on. He cuts, slices, and reattaches with surgical precision, tuning everything out until there is only his hands, his tools and the lining. Doyoung had done a good job of making the lining to the specifications he’d given Wonwoo, though, and it fits the box perfectly with barely any excess to spare.

He is just reattaching the velvety cloth-like material to the bottom of the box when Wonwoo gets a call on his holo. It breaks Soonyoung out of his trance and he looks up at Wonwoo in a daze, who shrugs and answers the call. Soonyoung’s father’s face pops out of Wonwoo’s watch and Soonyoung nearly drops the bit of fabric he’s holding. He raises an eyebrow at Wonwoo who looks just as confused as he does.

“Sir?” Wonwoo says, addressing Soonyoung’s father.

“Captain,” he returns. “We need you back on base right away.”

Wonwoo’s eyes dart to Soonyoung very briefly but he can see the fear in them, clear as day. “Is something happening, Sir?”

The General sighs and Soonyoung scowls when he notices the way his father glances at him for a split second before returning his attention to Wonwoo. “I know Soonyoung is there so tell him to keep his mouth shut about this.” Soonyoung has to bite his tongue in order not to snap back at his father, who is busy pretending that he didn’t just choose to ignore Soonyoung when he could have spoken to him directly. The bastard. “We detected a large battleship en route to New Titan. Sensors picked it up a couple of minutes ago and, at the speed it’s approaching at, it will probably be here within the next three hours.”

Wonwoo shoots Soonyoung a wary look who can only look back at him wide-eyed. “Are— Are you sure?” Wonwoo clears his throat. “Maybe it’s just slingshotting through our solar system.”

“No. We were contacted. They are sending an envoy down to us.”

Wonwoo swallows and Soonyoung can see the way his free hand is clenched tight against his side. “Do we know where they are from, sir?”

“Astarte. The universe knows what they want with us though. I didn’t even think they ventured out past their quadrant of the galaxy.”

“Neither did I, sir.”

“Well, be that as it may. We need you to come in ASAP. The Council will be meeting with the envoy and we would like you on our security detail when that happens. As far as we know, the Astartians are not hostile but we don’t know why they are here and we can’t afford to take any risks.”

“Yes, sir,” Wonwoo answers and Soonyoung can just about make out the reluctance in his voice. “I will be back on base within the hour, sir.”

“Good. Dismissed.” Wonwoo is about to raise his hand to salute when the call disconnects and he sags backwards like someone’s cut the string holding him upright. Soonyoung reaches out to steady him and Wonwoo gives him a grateful smile as he leans into him slightly.

“What do we do?”

Soonyoung sighs. “What we said we would. You handle the Council and, I guess, the Astartian envoy.” Soonyoung gives his shoulder a small squeeze. “Put those looks of yours to good use. Charm our way out of this.” Wonwoo only manages a weak laugh and Soonyoung tightens the arm he has around Wonwoo in support. “You got this, okay? Worst come to worse, play dumb. What the Council doesn’t know can’t hurt them.” He glances back at the workbench where the box is lying open where he’d left it, the lining almost perfectly attached and hidden underneath the cloth layer. “I’ll take care of the crystal.”

Wonwoo frowns at him. “And what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to hide it,” Soonyoung says grinning. “And I think I know just the place.”

Wonwoo eyes him suspiciously. “You’re not gonna tell me, are you?”

Soonyoung smiles, all sharp canines and just the slightest hint of mania. “Nope. What you don’t know won’t kill you, right?”

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading <3 
> 
> Kudos and comments keep me well fed, plus I want to hear your thoughts and theories!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His fingers tremble as he pockets the box and his heart is racing a light year a minute, the adrenaline racing through his veins making him more than a little jumpy but he wills himself to calm down as he takes one final look around his workshop. He tries not to think about how it almost feels like a goodbye, shutting that thought down before it can take root. Everything will be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! We are _**officially**_ about a quarter of the way through this story and I hope you're enjoying it so far :)  
> Things will be picking up from here so... uh... buckle up? And enjoy!

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

When Wonwoo leaves, Soonyoung springs into action. He only has three hours before the Astartian vessel arrives and while he’d told Wonwoo to handle it, this is his mess and he’s not _actually_ going to throw Wonwoo to the sharks and leave him to fend for himself. 

He grabs the newly lined box off the workbench and checks to make sure the crystal is still in his pocket, resolving to put the crystal in the box once he is on the move. Hopefully that will throw off the Astartian trackers enough that it makes things just that little bit more difficult for the Astartians when they arrive. 

He swipes a hand over his holowatch and calls up traffic times so that he has a clearer idea of how long it will take him to hide the crystal and get back to the Upper Levels. He does a few calculations in his head. If he plays his cards right, Wonwoo and his father will only need to play host for an hour, at most. 

His fingers tremble as he pockets the box and his heart is racing a light year a minute, the adrenaline racing through his veins making him more than a little jumpy but he wills himself to calm down as he takes one final look around his workshop. He tries not to think about how it almost feels like a goodbye, shutting that thought down before it can take root. Everything will be fine.

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

By the time Soonyoung makes it back to the city center he is distinctly more empty-handed than when he’d left just a couple of hours earlier. Both the box and the crystal have been stashed in a location only Soonyoung knows of and he intends to use that to his advantage. 

He is about a half an hour out from the higher levels, the rail that he is in rattling precariously on the older tracks of the line that he is on. Even the carriage proper looks a lot older; there is rust around the edges of the compartment and the doors and creaks every time it makes a turn. Soonyoung doesn’t even want to think about the way that it _shakes_ on some of the uphill climbs. 

The telltale rumble of a ship landing on the surface above the city had happened almost an hour ago now, which should mean that the Council and Wonwoo are already playing host to whatever envoy the Astartians have sent. A part of him wonders if that Commander General — _Jihoon_ he thinks his name was — will be there and his shoulder throbs at the memory. Another part of him, though, is just curious to see what they look like.

Now, Soonyoung had of course looked them up just before, deciding that he needed to know exactly what he was about to go up against. All he’d found out was that the Astartians were a really old race, dating back to millenia before even the time of Earth, which was already a couple thousand years ago in itself. The few articles he’d found on them also mentioned that they didn’t age like other races, with a lot of them having lifespans that ranged into the thousands.

One of the articles even had a photo; it was a girl that looked very much like the albinos did on New Titan, skin and hair a completely pale, almost paper white colour except instead of red eyes, hers were a glittering cerulean, the colour stark against the paleness of her skin. She had been eerily beautiful, and while she had looked almost human there had definitely been something so unmistakably _other_ about her. Something so other-worldly, he would have had to be blind to mistake her for a human being. Honestly, though, physically they hadn’t looked like much to Soonyoung and, ancient race or not, Soonyoung is determined not to back down from this fight. 

The train rattles its way to the Upper Levels, Soonyoung’s hands tapping insistently on the armrest as he tries to will it to move faster even though he knows it is not going to happen. He also checks his watch an unreasonable number of times, which really does nothing to negate the uncomfortable stirring in his gut. 

His thoughts drift to the Council, and Wonwoo, and what he thinks they’re doing now. Knowing his father, he would have found some way to rope Wonwoo into the discussions despite him only being a part of the security detail. He can almost imagine the complete reluctance in Wonwoo’s steps as his father all but forces him to sit at the table so that he can keep hounding Wonwoo with questions. Soonyoung has to stifle a chuckle at the image; Wonwoo really is his father’s favourite son, biological or otherwise.

He wonders how the Council is handling it; having no prior knowledge of anything that’s transpired over the last twenty four hours. The Astartians will think that they’re lying, of course, and will probably demand that they hand over the crystal ‘at once’. Soonyoung snorts, typical bureaucratic military types. Maybe they will even threaten to launch an attack on New Titan. Now that is a thought Soonyoung doesn’t want to think about, remembering the size and the sheer gap in technological advancement between his own ship and their battleship. New Titan won’t stand a chance.

Lost in his thoughts, Soonyoung nearly misses the stop for the Council chambers and he has to run to make it through the already closing rail doors. They clang shut right as he hits the platform and he nearly ends up running head first into a lady who tuts at him in disapproval before walking away and leaving him to pick himself up. Soonyoung rolls his eyes when her back is turned; he really hates being up here. 

The Central Upper Levels is where most of the influential people live and work, anyone from celebrities to government officials, basically anyone and everyone who thinks themselves above the rest of the population. It doesn’t help that he must look completely out of place in his all black jeans and t-shirt ensemble, especially with the dirt marks he knows he has smeared on some parts of it. He hopes there is none in his hair.

He makes a beeline for the building closest to the station, a large cylinder carved into what must once have been a sheer rock face. The station is near the top of it but he knows the building itself probably descends a good hundred floors into the depths of New Titan City proper. The exterior of the building is lined with dark metal and glass, windows pepper its surface allowing him viewing access into some of the less secure rooms.

The Council chamber itself is at the top of the building, another three floors above the walkway he is on now and surrounded entirely by thick tinted glass. Soonyoung can only vaguely make out the silhouettes against the glass but the fact that there people in there confirms Soonyoung’s suspicions that that is where the Council has taken then Astartian envoy.

He picks up his pace, half-running into the building and nearly startling a couple of workers who are on their way out. He nods a quick apology before dashing up the stairs in the center of the foyer, ignoring the weird looks from the security guards who are, by now, all too used to his antics. He reaches the top floor panting and takes about a second to compose himself — he brushes his hair back, dabs at the sweat glistening on his forehead and tries (in vain) to rub most of the dirt marks out of his jeans — before he presses his palm against the panel beside the large, chrome double doors and they swing inwards.

He is greeted by the heads of all twelve members of the Council swivelling towards him, his father’s scowl and, for a brief second, the sheer relief on Wonwoo’s face before he schools his expression into something more acceptable. The Council members are all seated on the far side of the obnoxiously large, round table facing him while the Astartian envoy are seated on the side opposite them, with their backs facing him although most of them have turned around to look at him with mild curiosity and thinly veiled annoyance. All except one, who is piercing him with a look that would have shorn him in two; you know, if looks could kill and all that. Soonyoung is glad that they can’t in that moment. There is more than a little annoyance simmering within the Astartian’s bright purple eyes and it is the sheer fire in his gaze that brings Soonyoung up short.

“What is the meaning of this?!” The Head Councilman — a short, portly old man half Soonyoung’s height and double his size — demands, palm slamming against the table. 

His father stands, looking at him, disappointment and disapproval clear in his eyes and in the way his lips are downturned. “I thought I told you to stop barging in on our Council meetings, Soonyoung.”

Soonyoung opens his mouth to answer but is interrupted by the Astartian with the purple eyes who is studying him with the same amount of disapproval his father is displaying. “Who is this?” He asks, voice high and melodic and, _ah_ , he must be the Commander General.

Soonyoung crosses his arms and studies him the same way, taking in the pale silver hair — different to the pale cream of the rest of the envoy — and the way it falls over features far too delicate for the look he is currently levelling at Soonyoung. His eyes are a brilliant violet and part of Soonyoung can’t help but wonder if they will glow in the dark when he turns off the light. Probably. They look like they’re glowing already. Everything about him screams regality, from the way his brow furrows as he stares at Soonyoung, to his fingers, long and elegant, and steepled under his chin. 

Under any other circumstances, Soonyoung would have thought him beautiful but right now he’s been nothing but a pain in his ass _and_ he almost destroyed Soonyoung’s ship, which overrides his looks entirely.

Soonyoung crosses his arms and smiles at him, teeth bared and, somewhere in the back of the room, he can see Wonwoo putting his face in his hands. He makes a mental note to apologise to his best friend after everything is over before returning his attention to the matter at hand. 

“Commander General… Jihoon? Was it?” He eyes the Astartian like a hunter eyes his prey, smile only growing wider when the Commander stiffens before his eyes narrow and he’s turning fully in his seat to face Soonyoung. 

“You,” he says, eyes still narrowed as he takes Soonyoung in, properly this time, and Soonyoung knows that he’s hit his mark.

One of the Councilmen makes a startled noise, something between a cough and yelp, and they both turn towards the noise. “You guys— You know each other?”

Soonyoung almost laughs at the faint tremor he detects in the man’s voice. Politicians. He returns his attention to Jihoon but answers the man’s question anyway. “Mmm, yes. He fired on me. _Without warning_ too by the way. Nearly destroyed my ship.”

“What do you mean?” Soonyoung’s father asks, looking between him and Jihoon. “Did you fire on one of our vessels unprovoked, Commander?”

Jihoon tears his eyes away from Soonyoung’s where they’d been having some kind of showdown. “It was nothing, a warning shot. There was no damage done to the vessel in question.”

The frown between Soonyoung’s father’s brow deepens. “But you mentioned that it was unprovoked.”

Soonyoung smiles. “Oh yes. I was just minding my own business in the middle of the light speed slipstream when I was fired upon without any warning. They didn’t even attempt communications until after they had shot up my ship.”

Jihoon clears his throat, shooting Soonyoung a dirty look before turning to face the Councilmen. “We admit the measures taken were less than ideal, but I can assure you that the shots were very carefully calibrated to _not_ pass through his shield.”

“Be that as it may,” Soonyoung’s father says. “I would still like to know your reason for firing upon my son’s ship.”

Soonyoung’s eyes widen as he looks back at his father who also seems to have realised what he’d just said. Even Wonwoo’s jaw drops completely for a split second before he composes himself again. Jihoon is looking between the two of them with curiosity but Soonyoung can see the spark of something in his eyes when he catches Jihoon’s gaze and braces for impact. 

“Your son,” Jihoon repeats. “I see.” He pauses for a second before answering Soonyoung’s father. “It was for the same reason we’re here, of course. The signal we were initially following was on board his ship until our little skirmish happened and… _your son_ ,” he emphasises for effect, almost like he’s tasting the words on his tongue. “Your son decided to rid himself of the tracker by throwing it out the airlock. We were unable to follow him after that and had no other means of tracking him until recently when we picked up another signal that brought us here.”

When Jihoon finishes speaking, his father looks back at him. “Do you know what he’s talking about?”

Soonyoung shrugs. “Not a clue.”

Jihoon whirls around, standing up from his seat to take a step towards him, eyes blazing. “Don’t you dare lie to me. I know you have it.”

Soonyoung has to admit that he is momentarily surprised by Jihoon’s height, because while he had held himself with so much purpose that he had seemed a lot bigger, and he was definitely a lot _broader_ than Soonyoung, he only came up to somewhere near Soonyoung’s shoulder. This meant that Soonyoung could look down at him with ease, something that Jihoon only noticed once he’d already stood up from his seat.

“Have what?”

Jihoon takes another step forward until he is right up in Soonyoung’s space and Soonyoung can tell that he is absolutely seething because his eyes are most definitely glowing now and the tips of his ears along with them. Strangely enough, even the tip of his nose is flushed a bright red. It is almost adorable. Almost. Jihoon points a finger at him. “I _know_ you have it. We tracked it’s signal all the way to this planet. Even when it faded to something barely detectable it was on this planet.”

Soonyoung cocked his head, an infuriatingly perfect picture of innocence. “Can you detect it now, though?”

“No,” Jihoon grumbled, looking at the bracelet on his wrist as he answers. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that.”

“Soonyoung,” his father warns.

Jihoon looks back at the room for a second before speaking in a much louder voice. “I said no.”

Soonyoung crosses his arms. “Then what makes you think it’s still here, Commander General.”

Jihoon scowls at the blatant use of his rank. “Because its last detected location was _here_. The signal was really faint but we have the coordinates.” He takes a step back and turns towards the Council. “That is why we were asking if you would let us search its last known location.”

The Head Councilman frowns. “Since you have the coordinates, we can pull it up on a map for you.”

Soonyoung freezes, his eyes meeting Wonwoo’s over the heads of the Council and he can see the same worry reflected in them. This was not expected; he had put the crystal in the box while on the train, hoping that it would have cut the signal off completely but the lining must not have been thick enough. Soonyoung can only hope that it isn’t anywhere near his hiding site.

Jihoon hands the coordinates over to the Head Councilman and he plugs them into the table’s giant holoscreen that he’d just pulled up. There is a few seconds of silence and then a map appears with a large white dot in the middle to show the location of the coordinates that were keyed-in. 

Wonwoo shifts forward to take a closer look before he announces, “That looks like it's over nothing. A chasm.”

Soonyoung’s father and the Head Councilman squint as they move closer to the screen. “You’re right,” the Head Councilman says, confused. “This shows the signal in the middle of a chasm that looks like it goes all the way down to the planet’s core. The only thing there is one of our older railway lines but hardly anyone goes out there anymore.” He looks up at Jihoon. “Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”

The rest of the envoy shakes their head and Jihoon joins in. “There is no mistake. The crystal we are looking for is on your planet and your _son_ ,” he jerks his head towards Soonyoung. “Knows about it somehow.” He looks back at the Council. “We would like to bring him on board our ship for questioning.”

“What?” Soonyoung’s father is the one to speak but it is the Head Councilman who rises to his feet.

“You can’t do that,” he says, tone flat. It is the scariest he has ever heard the Head Councilman and he never would have thought that he’d hear it in his defence. “This is our planet, our jurisdiction. We can’t just let you take one of our own prisoner.”

Jihoon looks at him, unamused. “We won’t be keeping him prisoner. We just want to ask him a few questions.”

Soonyoung watches this debate happen with veiled disinterest before he steps forward, shocking Jihoon who steps away from him reflexively. “It’s fine. I’ll go. But _if_ I’m not back within twenty four hours, you can storm the ship looking for me.” He turns towards Jihoon, a small saccharine smile on his face. “Deal?”

Jihoon looks back at the rest of the envoy, who haven’t spoken a word at all during this exchange, and they nod in agreement. “Fine,” Jihoon says, turning back to the Council. “We have him for twenty four hours _but_ if we learn nothing from him in that time, we will have to call a full-scale diplomatic intervention.”

The Head Councilman’s eyes widen and he looks between the two of them in disbelief. “Really? Is it that serious?”

“You have no idea, Head Councilman,” Jihoon deadpans.

Soonyoung’s father looks at him then and Soonyoung already knows what he is going to say before he says it. “You better not screw this up then, Soonyoung. Take something seriously for once in your life.”

Knowing, unfortunately, doesn’t make his father’s words hurt less; the weight of them, the true meaning and disappointment behind them hits him so hard that heat rushes to his head and he knows he’s probably just as red as Jihoon had been earlier. He levels a glare at Jihoon but he knows better than to answer, especially not right now. Soonyoung stuffs his hands in his pockets to hide the fact that they’re trembling and turns to Jihoon, who had been watching them with mild interest. “Lead the way then, _Commander General._ ”

Jihoon scowls at the tone in his voice but says nothing. Instead, he turns back to the other Astartians and dips his head once (do they not use words with each other?) and they all rise simultaneously, their movements smooth and fluid and they practically glide into a double line, leaving the middle row for Jihoon and Soonyoung, who follow them as directed. He turns back to the room to find Wonwoo watching him with worry and he can't help the feeling of regret that bubbles to the surface when he realises that Wonwoo has spent the better part of the last few days worrying about _him_ and here he is, making another reckless decision by offering himself up to be questioned by some alien Commander _._ He shoots him what he hopes is an encouraging smile and resolves to buy him lunch for a week once he has everything figured out.

The security detail outside the room — soldiers from their own military — escort them down the stairs and into an elevator lobby on the same floor Soonyoung had entered from. It is just as garish as every other hall he’s passed so far — all dark chrome finishes with tinted glass, peppered with the occasional gold lighting fixture. 

Soonyoung can’t help but wonder what the Astartians think of their planet, their city even. If their pristine all-white battleship had been anything to go by, all this darkness must be something completely new to them. Maybe on their planet, they don’t even build underground. It isn’t uncommon but he can’t imagine the Astartians in dark and dingy places like his city just as much as he can’t imagine himself somewhere as surgically clean as the Astartians look. Something about them just feels too bright, too clean, for his world.

He glances sideways at Jihoon who has his eyes fixed on the numbers flashing on the screen beside the elevator, takes in the way everything about him seems to glow, even his skin looks almost luminescent like this, like if he were to hold up his palm against his skin he’d see faint rays of light reflected on his own skin. Even his outfit is so white, so perfect, that it looks like it is positively glowing. It is all very wondrous to Soonyoung who has only ever known the grim darkness of living underground on a planet with so many toxic substances on its surface that they end up finding their way down to the city anyway.

A beep announces the elevator's arrival, breaking Soonyoung out of his thoughts and his head snaps towards the front once more. The security team escorts them all inside the tiny metal and glass box before pressing the button for level fifty. It is quiet as the lift makes its descent, the awkwardness of being trapped in an enclosed space with people you don’t know blanketing everyone enough that no one even tries to move. Soonyoung is sure he doesn’t even breathe until the doors open and he takes what feels like a first breath.

They step out into a huge corridor — one where the walls are lined with metal instead of rock — that leads to a giant set of blast doors at the end. Of course, the Astartians would have been given the royal treatment, which meant access to the hangar commonly used by other diplomats and government officials. The security detail at the front leads them down the corridor a good distance away, while the team at the back remains a couple of paces from the Astartians behind them too, and the sounds of the multiple ventilation systems thunder through the walls and ceiling around them.

That must be the reason why Jihoon speaks to him then, voice low as if he doesn’t want to be overheard. “You agreed to this too easily,” he asks and Soonyoung detects the hints of suspicion in his tone. “Why?”

“Didn’t want an audience,” he answers just as softly without taking his eyes off the security detail in front of them.

“So you have answers to my questions then?”

Soonyoung smiles, eyes fixed ahead. “If you ask the right questions.”

Jihoon huffs. “You are insufferable.”

In his head he hears Wonwoo’s voice saying the same thing only hours before but what already feels like an entire lifetime ago and he breathes out a laugh. “So I’ve been told.”

They reach the blast doors, which the security team is opening with their palms — two men with their palms pressed on the panels on either side of the door at the same time. A measure to add extra security to the hangar that Soonyoung thinks is completely ridiculous but who is he to comment on the needs of their elite. 

The doors open and he is greeted by the sight of the Astartian battleship, a giant vessel with multiple saucers attached to one body that looks even bigger from the ground than it did from Soonyoung’s ship. It takes up the entire hangar and Soonyoung is absolutely awestruck. If he had thought the ship looked impressive from space then it looks exponentially more impressive from this vantage point. He is already trying to break the ship down in his head; how it flies, what type of light speed drives does it use, what fuel, what is its true capacity.

With all of these questions taking up space in his head, Soonyoung doesn’t realise that they’ve reached the on-ramp — an elegant thing that descends from the bottom of the main body — and he is being ushered onto it. The New Titan security detail falls away as they enter the ship proper and it is like Jihoon has finally been let off his leash. His calm demeanour falls away completely as he passes the threshold and he grabs Soonyoung roughly, pulling his arms behind him faster than he can blink. Soonyoung finds himself locked in a grip so strong he wouldn’t have expected it from someone as small as Jihoon. 

“Cuff him,” Jihoon says, addressing the other members of the envoy. 

The Astartian in front of him pulls out a pair of wide metal bands that clamp down on his wrists tightly before being pulled together by what Soonyoung assumes is some kind of magnetic charge. He twists his head to try and look at Jihoon who is watching everything happen with his arms crossed and a smug smile on his lips. “You were expecting this to happen.” Soonyoung hisses, disbelief colouring his voice.

Jihoon’s smile widens, baring sharp white teeth. “Just like you were, Kwon Soonyoung.” He looks up at the rest of the envoy, his smile disappearing in an instant. “Put him in a cell.”

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> > Soonyoung is led through meandering corridors where everything is the same kind of smooth, white material as the exterior of the ship. When he looks closely, though, he thinks he can see other colours swimming just beneath the surface — swirls of pale pinks and blues and purples that appear only at odd angles like some kind of holographic screen or an oil slick. Except the oil is white.

Soonyoung is led through meandering corridors where everything is the same kind of smooth, white material as the exterior of the ship. When he looks closely, though, he thinks he can see other colours swimming just beneath the surface — swirls of pale pinks and blues and purples that appear only at odd angles like some kind of holographic screen or an oil slick. Except the oil is white.

Soonyoung tries to memorise the turns they take like in the old movies he watches sometimes on his holosuite — left, right, left, left again — but he gives up after the third left and the fifth corridor that looks exactly the same as all the others before it. Instead, he spends the rest of the time observing, taking in the strange architecture of the ship. Being in a ship as immaculate and as _white_ as this makes him feel exceptionally dirty (even though he knows he is only moderately dirty at best) and he can’t help but wonder if the outfits of the Astartians holding him will come away smeared with dirt and grease. 

He looks down at the sets of hands that are wrapped tightly around his arms. They really do have such thin, elegant looking fingers. He wriggles a little to test the strength of their grip and gets an inhumanly strong squeeze around his bicep that he’s sure is going to bruise. Yelping, he tries to flinch away from the Astartian, who pays absolutely no attention to him whatsoever. Their eyes remain resolutely focused on the path in front of them. He scowls but decides that he doesn’t want to find out about any other potential non-human strengths. 

Eventually, they lead him into a little white box-like thing, which he assumes is some kind of elevator judging from the panel buttons along one of the walls. One of the Astartians presses a button with a strange symbol on it and the box shudders to life, dropping downwards and leaving Soonyoung’s stomach behind. He swallows against what he swears is his heart in his throat, hammering away at his ribcage because he had _not_ been anticipating a drop like that. 

He casts wary glances at the Astartiansa around him but none of them seem all too bothered, which makes sense, he supposes. Although, having a high speed elevator in a ship that could only be five floors tall maximum seems to be a little bit of an overkill to him. But who is he to judge technology that is lifetimes ahead of him? 

He is shoved forward out of the elevator into a corridor that is still white but somehow seems… Dimmer. Almost. Whatever light is given off by the walls and floors is a lot less here, making the entire corridor seem a lot more imposing, and just a shade out of character. He would almost fall it dinghy, in the very rough, Astartian description of the word. This corridor is also lined with doors; large white floor-to-ceiling doors that appear to dematerialise as their way of opening. They pass by one just as an Astartian exits and Soonyoung can’t help but stare as the door dissolves into a faint mist-like material full of the same light coloured swirls he’d seen within the surface of the walls before it reforms into something more solid once the Astartian is outside.

He wants to stop, wants to ask his guards even, to explain the science behind it all because his engineering brain has not stopped working since he set foot on this ship. But his guards have done nothing but ignore him and he doesn’t doubt they will continue to do so even if he screams bloody murder into their ears. He sighs inwardly as he reluctantly tears his eyes away from the door and the retreating back of the Astartian.

To his delight (kind of), they bring him right up to one of these doors, the door at the very end of the corridor in fact. He watches in fascination as the Astartian passes a hand over the front of the door and the door melts away. Although, if he looks close enough he can see the faint outline of the door still there in the faint coloured mist. 

He doesn’t have time to study it much, though, because he is shoved unceremoniously inside and it is only then that he realises that he is in some kind of interrogation room. It is a sizable enough room, all white (of course) with nothing inside it save for the lone chair (also white) very clearly attached to the floor. 

The chair itself doesn’t look too uncomfortable, the seat is even quite soft he realises when they push him into it but then they pull his arms around the back of it and the same kind of magnetic field locks his handcuffs to the back of the chair in the most awkward position. Now, it feels like any wrong move might cause his shoulder to just pop out of its socket and he has to force himself to not wriggle against the cuffs. 

Just when he doesn’t think it can get any worse, metal plates, the same as the ones his cuffs are made out of, detach themselves from the leg of the chair and wrap themselves around his ankle, securing him to it and leaving him absolutely no space to even strain against the cuffs. It is a horrible feeling to not be able to struggle because he can’t afford to break any bones but he can give the Astartians a dirty look, which he does as they gather around the door in front of him.

“Wow,” he breathes. “You guys are some hardass motherfuckers. I can’t even move my arms.”

One of the Astartians shoots him a look of such pure disdain he can’t help but sneer back. “What? Too uncivilised for you?”

The Astartian tuts. “The young ones always have so much energy and so little manners.” He shakes his head. “We will see if you still have your fire after you’re stuck in here for twelve hours.”

Soonyoung is so stunned by the fact that they decided to break their silence that his comeback completely dies on his lips and he can do nothing as the Astartians file out of the room and leave him and his thoughts alone.

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

The first couple of hours (or what Soonyoung thinks is the first couple of hours, there is no way for him to actually tell the time in the room) pass by relatively uneventfully. He tries, incredibly unsuccessfully, to pull himself free but he receives nothing for it except sore wrists and ankles as well as a loose shoulder from the one time he actually nearly pulled his shoulder out of its socket.

Under any other circumstances, he would have tried his hardest to get out of there but he knows once the twenty four hours is up he will have to be allowed to go free or the Astartians will have to face severe diplomatic consequences. He just hopes that they don’t actually torture him; he had been so sure that they wouldn’t when he had offered himself up but seeing the change in Jihoon’s demeanour was more than a little terrifying and Soonyoung really wouldn’t put it past him to put him through the proverbial wringer.

It is only when the third hour or so comes along that Soonyoung starts to get really uncomfortable; his wrists and ankles are chafed raw from the cuffs and he is beginning to feel the first hints of hunger and thirst start to hit him. It starts off as something small, nothing more than a scratchy throat and mild pangs of hunger but he knows he will suffer when it blossoms into something bigger. He briefly wonders if this counts as some kind of torture. Maybe. Low-level things that he will have nothing to show for except fatigue, which could be anything.

He thinks of Jihoon and his smug smile and he scowls, the smart bastard. So maybe it is also partially his fault for provoking Jihoon back in the Council room. He _had_ been trying to ‘diplomatically’ get his crystal back after all and if Soonyoung was being honest, he would have given it back without too much trouble. Maybe. If he didn’t need the crystal as much as he did. Now, though, now Soonyoung is going to make the questioning hell for Jihoon. He smiles to himself and then reconsiders it, lifting his head to smile at nothing because he is sure the room is being surveilled.

The thought of getting under Jihoon’s skin is enough to sustain him for the next couple of hours. He thinks he even dozes off for a few of them, which, while a good reprieve, means that he’d put all his weight into the cuffs. This led to them digging even more into his wrists, enough that he might even be bleeding now. He sighs, trying to relax into the chair as much as possible to take the pressure off his wrists. Maybe, if he’s lucky, he’ll start going crazy before the questioning and then he really won’t be able to tell Jihoon anything.

He is chuckling to himself about the idea of Jihoon losing his only lead to the crystal when the door opens (disappears?) and Jihoon enters, alone this time. The door seals itself behind him and he stands there for a second staring Soonyoung down. He looks a bit different now; he’d changed out of his formal uniform and is now wearing what looks to be some kind of high-collared shirt with pants that look a lot like jeans except that they are white, and definitely not made from denim. His hair doesn’t look like it’s styled to a fault right now either and it makes him look… softer… somehow.

Soonyoung rolls his eyes internally; like that’s going to make him lower his guard. He smiles up at Jihoon. “I see you’ve finally decided to grace me with your presence, Commander General.”

Jihoon glares at him, purple eyes flashing dangerously. “I suggest you only speak when you’re answering one of my questions, Kwon Soonyoung.”

“It’s-,” he is cut off by a tiny shock that starts from between his lower back and spreads through the rest of his body.

Jihoon levels him an unimpressed look. “Like I was saying, I would rather not resort to…,” he gestures at the chair. “…extreme measures. Believe it or not, I don’t actually want to hurt you.”

Soonyoung snorts. “Yeah and keeping me completely cuffed to a chair that could possibly shock me to death is not hurting me.”

Jihoon sighs. “You were not supposed to be cuffed to the chair, they were supposed to just leave you in this room. But I’m guessing you couldn’t resist making things difficult for them, didn’t you?”

“For the record,” Soonyoung spits. “They put me in this chair even before I said anything. So forgive me if I don’t believe you.”

Jihoon groans in frustration. “You are a _pain._ But will it make you feel better if I release the cuffs from the chair? They will have to stay on of course, but you would be a lot more comfortable.” Soonyoung eyes him warily and Jihoon holds up his hands in a placating gesture. “I did mean it when I said I only wanted to talk. I ask questions, you answer them, no one gets hurt. Simple as that.”

Soonyoung scowls, still not entirely believing him but he decides the promise of having his hands released is worth it. “Fine. But release my arms first, I swear I can’t feel them anymore.”

Jihoon huffs, muttering something that sounds a lot like ‘drama queen’ as he walks around Soonyoung to release the magnetic field on the chair. His arms snap free and he moans, cradling them to his chest. “Oh my god. Sweet relief.”

Jihoon frowns at him but says nothing. He actually lets him give his arms a good rub down before securing the cuffs together in front of him this time, which, while still a hindrance, is infinitely more comfortable. He breathes out a sigh and leans back in the chair. “Go ahead, ask away.”

Immediately, he receives another zap from the chair, slightly stronger this time, and he yelps, jumping up from the seat and nearly falling flat on his face because his feet are still cuffed. He glares at Jihoon who shakes his head before looking at one of the walls. “Jun, I told you to only shock him when necessary.”

There is a brief pause and then a voice filters through what must be some kind of communication system even though Soonyoung can’t see any sign of a speaker or device on Jihoon. “That was necessary, sir.”

Jihoon sighs, brows furrowing together as he pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Jun.”

Silence. “Sorry, sir.”

“From now on, you will only do that on my signal. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now...” Jihoon turns back to face Soonyoung who leans away reflexively. “Tell me where the crystal is.”

Soonyoung smiles. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Jihoon releases a huff of breath in frustration, moving to pace back and forth in front of him. “Yes. You do. Just tell me where it is, that’s all we need.”

Soonyoung leans back and regards him coolly. “Tell me why it’s so important then.”

Jihoon looks at him incredulously, head cocked like he can’t really believe the words that have just come out of Soonyoung’s mouth. “What?”

“I said,” Soonyoung answers. “Tell me why it’s so important because it clearly is or you wouldn’t be here stirring up shit with my planet’s Council and interrogating me. Hell, even the fact that it was in a box that had a self-activating tracker on it means that it is something that can’t be lost.” Soonyoung leans forward and braces his elbows on his knees, smile securely in place. “I want you to tell me why.”

Jihoon groans and starts pacing again, muttering to himself as though he is trying to work out the pros and cons of telling Soonyoung. Eventually, he comes to a stop in front of Soonyoung, hands braced on his hips as he stares down at him. “Fine. I will tell you but you will have to hold onto this secret as tightly as you seem to be holding on to yours.”

Soonyoung frowns but he nods anyway; he hadn’t expected Jihoon to give in this easily. Maybe he is more desperate than Soonyoung thought. 

“The crystal,” Jihoon begins, eyes darting cautiously to the wall for a split second. “Is the heart of our planet. It grows only on our planet and it gives us enough energy to power our cities for centuries. The only problem is that one crystal takes centuries to grow, and even then it is only a little bit faster than the rate at which we use up its energy.” The look on his face grows more serious as he continues. “Our current crystal is almost depleted.”

Soonyoung stares at him for a while, a minute, an hour he doesn’t know but his mind is racing. The fact that the crystal had enough energy to power a planet for centuries, that their survival literally hinged on this one tiny rock. The sudden realisation that he had hooked up said tiny rock to his racer nearly makes him pass out because he really, _really,_ could have killed them all.

He looks up at Jihoon who is watching him have his mental breakdown and has to look away because he can see it all there in his eyes — the desperation, the anger, the _fear._ Fuck. He has to give up the crystal now. He fiddles with the cuffs around his wrists as he tries his absolute hardest to not look at Jihoon, who seems to be growing more and more impatient with his silence. Jihoon takes a step towards him and Soonyoung flinches preemptively, expecting to be shocked again for pissing Jihoon off but nothing happens except he now has a very angry Jihoon staring down at him and no answer in sight.

“Well?” Jihoon asks, arms crossing as he glares at Soonyoung. “Do you understand its importance now? Why we have been so desperate to find it. At our current crystal’s rate of decay, we only have about five years left.”

Soonyoung frowns up at him. Five years is a long time for him but time might not feel the same to them and this crystal _had_ already been missing from before he’d bought it. “How long have you been looking for this?” He asks quietly, not really expecting an answer.

“About two centuries, give or take a few years.”

“What?” Soonyoung’s eyes have gone wide with shock and he knows he’s really just staring at Jihoon now, who squirms slightly under Soonyoung’s gaze. “Are you serious?”

Jihoon frowns. “Why would I not be?”

Soonyoung’s jaw is quite possibly on the ground but he doesn’t really have the faculty to fix it at the moment. Instead he just gives Jihoon a perfunctory once-over, looking for any sign that might hint at how old Jihoon really is but there is nothing. In the end he asks Jihoon. “So how old are you then?”

Jihoon steps back, the crease between his brows deepening for a split second before he looks back up at Soonyoung. “Long enough to have been searching for that crystal for two hundred years. But my age isn’t important.” He raises a brow at Soonyoung. “Will you be returning the crystal to us?”

Soonyoung hums, contemplative. He knows he has to give the crystal back but he _had_ also spent ten thousand credits on it so he isn’t about to walk away completely empty-handed. He cocks his head and regards Jihoon. “Fine. I will return the crystal to you, on one condition.”

“Name it.”

“Agreeing before hearing the condition. That’s awfully presumptuous of you, Jihoon,” Soonyoung says, his smile widening when he notices Jihoon’s scowl at the blatant use of his name. “But since you’ve already agreed, I want an alternative fuel source.”

Now it is Jihoon’s turn for his jaw to be on the floor as he looks at Soonyoung completely flabbergasted. “A _what?!_ Hold on. Is that what you were going to use the crystal for?”

Soonyoung only shrugs, which earns him an exasperated groan from Jihoon who has started pacing the room again. Soonyoung waits for him to process the information and even though he is expecting it this time, he still flinches when Jihoon’s head whips around to stare at him. 

Jihoon’s eyes narrow. “You could have destroyed your entire planet.”

“Yeah, well. We know that _now_.”

Jihoon only shakes his head and for a second he looks like he is about to say no but then he turns around and walks right back to Soonyoung. “An alternative fuel source, you say?”

Soonyoung nods. “Yep. And I promise you will only get the crystal once I have my hands on whatever fuel source you have that is of equal value.”

He shoots a smirk at the wall to his right where he assumes the control room for the chair is and he swears he feels a tingle in his bottom. Meanwhile, Jihoon is just standing in front of him and tapping his feet like he is still trying to figure out if it is worth it to agree to Soonyoung’s request. He is so near to Soonyoung that Soonyoung could probably touch him if he tried, so he does. He reaches out slowly to try and jab him with his finger but Jihoon jumps away without even looking at him and Soonyoung frowns, disappointed.

“Okay,” Jihoon says finally. “I, personally, do not have any problems with your request and, fortunately, I also know of another crystal of a similar calibre except that it will not be able to destroy your planet.

Soonyoung stares at him, wide-eyed. “Are you serious?”

Jihoon nods and Soonyoung almost relaxes, but Jihoon continues. “I will have to convene with our Emperor, though.”

“So do it then,” Soonyoung says, smug. If he could cross his arms then he would, but these fucking cuffs have become the literal bane of his existence and his twenty four hours isn’t anywhere near up yet. “Convince him. But remember that if this is a trick, or you somehow decide to kill me instead, the crystal’s location goes with me.”

Jihoon shoots him a look that is pure venom. “Do not take me for a fool. I know exactly what game you’re playing, Kwon Soonyoung.”

Soonyoung meets his eyes unflinchingly. “So, play the game.”

Jihoon’s gaze darkens at Soonyoung’s words and he draws closer until he is right up in Soonyoung’s space. He reaches for his jaw, grip tight enough to elicit a gasp from Soonyoung who tries to struggle but is completely powerless in Jihoon’s hold. Jihoon tugs at him roughly, pulling his chin up until Soonyoung has nowhere else to look but his eyes. “Do not test me. I am treating you civilly because it is not our way to solve problems with violence. But if you try to trick us in any way, we will raze your planet to the ground, diplomacy be damned.”

There is a fire in his eyes, which are glowing a more brilliant shade of violet, the brightest and the most intense he has seen the Astartian’s eyes become. There is also a promise. He sees the certainty and determination in the flames and he knows that Jihoon isn’t kidding, that he _will_ destroy New Titan, and the worst part about it is that he _can._ The Astartians have technology New Titan can only dream of having; they wouldn’t be able to put up a fight at all.

He nods, as much as he can within Jihoon’s vice-like grip anyway, which he knows is probably going to give him a nasty bruise, like he doesn’t have enough already. “Don’t worry. I know how to pick my battles. You give me my fuel source, I give you the crystal. Fair and square.”

Jihoon releases him roughly and takes a step back, the fire in his gaze simmering to an intensity that is much more bearable to look at. “You’re smart for a human, I’ll give you that.”

Soonyoung rolls his eyes, unsure whether he’d just been complimented or insulted but he rolls with it anyway. “Sorry we don’t have centuries to accumulate our knowledge.”

Surprisingly, Jihoon almost laughs at that. Okay, it was more of a breathy exhale but Soonyoung doesn’t miss the way the corners of lips twitch and, really, he’ll take what he can get at this point. Anything is better than the Jihoon of minutes before, the one who Soonyoung doesn’t doubt could have crushed his jaw if he wanted to. The thought makes him shiver slightly and he pushes it aside as he returns his attention to Jihoon.

“I will contact the Emperor,” Jihoon says finally. 

Soonyoung smiles, saccharine. “Give him my love.”

Jihoon can only shake his head as he waves his hand in front of the door and it fades away before you. Soonyoung settles back against the chair, watching as the image of Jihoon starts to disappear as the door solidifies. He gives his wrists a little shake, wincing slightly when they rub against the raw skin, and casts a sly glance at the wall to his right. He gets a light zap in return, which only makes him chuckle as he focuses on getting his body to relax as much as possible. It is going to be a long night after all.

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is, unfortunately, unedited because I wanted to get this out by today so any mistakes are mine. (I will be coming back to edit it at some point though!)
> 
> I do hope you enjoy this chapter though! Many things are happening <3

It is a long night indeed. Soonyoung actually manages to doze off at some point and the people behind the secret wall must feel like cutting him some slack because he sleeps completely undisturbed by shocks of any kind. Shocks aside, it’s not comfortable by any means and Soonyoung wakes up an indiscriminate amount of time later with aches in places he didn’t even know existed. 

His wrists and ankles, having remained tightly cuffed the entire time, are chafed completely raw now and Soonyoung thinks he must have struggled against them in his sleep. He had also slipped down the chair quite a bit, which explains the ache in his ankles, and he struggles to push himself upright without aggravating it any further. He nicks himself once, wincing as it happens and gives up altogether, slumping against the back of the chair.

He casts a look at the wall to his right, still a resolutely solid white even though he assumes that whoever is on the other side can see through it quite clearly. Or clearly enough. 

“Hey,” he addresses the wall. “Any chance you could bring something to drink? I’m dying here and, as far as I know, I am not your prisoner so I don’t think it would do you any good to return me to my people looking like I’ve been starved and tortured.”

There is nothing for a moment and Soonyoung wonders if they’d maybe all gone to bed — he _is_ still tightly bound to this chair and even if he wasn’t he sure as heck wouldn’t know how to open the damn door anymore. It wouldn’t be too hard to believe that they’d leave him alone. He is just about to accept this fate when he gets a low voltage zap against the small of his back. He jumps trying but failing to not jostle his legs too much. He scowls at the wall.

“I take it that’s a no.”

Sighing in resignation, he relaxes against the chair again, careful to not let much of his lower back come into contact with the surface. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d asked for a drink, though. He can feel his thirst full-on now, the dryness in his throat and the way there seems to be absolutely nothing even as he tries to swallow his own saliva. He figures it is half his fault for mouthing off so much earlier but he couldn’t help it, Jihoon had been so easy to rile up. 

He chuckles to himself as he thinks of Jihoon, small and fiery, like some kind of human peppercorn. The way his eyes had blazed with anger intrigued Soonyoung and he has half a mind to ask him straight up if his eyes glow in the dark like some of the underground-dwelling animals on New Titan — some kind of natural adaptation to the darkness. 

He’s also realised that Jihoon’s eyes are a different colour to the other Astartians, the purple completely stark and vibrant against his pale skin unlike the pale silver of the other Astartians. In fact, Jihoon didn’t really look much like them at all — his silver hair and purple eyes a huge contrast to the pale cream strands on the others. Soonyoung wonders if they are maybe different species, or different… ethnicities? He sighs, head dropping towards his chest, he really should have read up more about them before barging into that Council room.

Soonyoung is so caught up in the tangential nature of his thoughts that he doesn’t notice the door opening or Jihoon entering until the Astartian is standing right in front of him. Jihoon clears his throat and Soonyoung jumps nearly a foot in the air, or, he would have had he not been so ungraciously bound to some kind of executioner’s chair. 

He does kind of scream though, which only has Jihoon raising a largely unimpressed eyebrow. Soonyoung huffs out a breath, hands clutching at his chest as he tries to will his heart to stop banging against his rib cage.

“Holy shit! Give a man a warning will you?”

“I literally walked in right in front of you,” Jihoon deadpans. “It is not my fault that you don’t pay attention to your surroundings.”

“I pay attention!” Soonyoung splutters. “I just— I was just— You know what, forget it.” He takes a deep breath and tries to school his expression into something that is the closest to normal that he can manage right now. “I assume you have news?”

Jihoon nods. “I do. The Emperor has approved your request.”

Soonyoung’s eyes widens and twitches as if he wants to get up, forgetting for a second that he is still cuffed to the chair until pain lances across his ankle and he is forced to still himself. “Are you serious? He said yes?”

Jihoon nods again, his expression solemn but there is a gleam of _something_ in his eyes. “He did.”

Soonyoung narrows his eyes. “This is real right? This isn’t some kind of elaborate scheme to try and get me to return the crystal without getting anything in return.”

Jihoon snorts, taking a step closer as he crosses his arms. He is so close now that Soonyoung has to lean back in his chair to look up at him. “No, this isn’t some scheme. We had a deal and now I am telling you that we will agree to it.”

“Shit,” Soonyoung breathes, burying his face in his hands for a second because he can’t believe that the Astartians would agree to his request. The request he had gone out on a limb to make in the hopes that he could maybe still get something out of this transaction. He didn’t actually expect it to happen. “Holy fuck,” he says quietly into the safety of his palms before he lifts his head again to look at Jihoon who is watching him curiously. 

“So,” he starts slowly. “Does this mean that you will give me that other crystal in exchange for your own.

“Yes,” Jihoon says, nodding slightly. “But there is one thing.”

Soonyoung stiffens. “What thing? What is it?”

“We don’t have the other crystal in our possession so we will have to go and retrieve it.”

Soonyoung groans, leaning back against the chair until his head is hanging over the back of it. “I knew it. I knew there was something. You’re expecting me to go with you, aren’t you?”

“Of course. We can’t have you trying to run off on us again now can we?” There is a smile tugging at Jihoon’s lips and Soonyoung decides then and there that he doesn’t want to see the full version of that smile on Jihoon’s lips ever. There is a secret behind that smile, one the makes the hair on Soonyoung’s arms stand and Soonyoung has a bad feeling he’s not going to like it when it comes to light. 

He refuses to show that it rattled him though, answering Jihoon with a voice that betrays none of the emotions currently running through his mind. “Touche. But where exactly is this crystal? You’re not going to make us traipse around the entire galaxy, are you?”

Jihoon scowls. “Do we look like we have time for that, Soonyoung?”

Somehow the sound of his name in Jihoon’s mouth doesn’t sit right with him and he throws him a dirty look. “Technically, you have a couple of years, _Jihoon._ ” He hisses the name through his teeth and smiles when he sees the obvious displeasure flash across Jihoon’s face before it settles back into something more neutral. “I, on the other hand, need this before the next—“

He stops himself before he reveals the real reason he’s looking for the crystal; he doesn’t know how Jihoon will take the idea of Soonyoung holding his crystal captive just so he can guarantee his win in the next Dune Race. Does Jihoon even know of the Dune Races? He eyes him carefully deciding that maybe he doesn’t want to find out. Instead he settles for playing it off. 

“The next project I’m working on,” he finishes, which, if he’s being honest, isn’t entirely untrue. “And I am on a tight schedule.”

Jihoon sniffs, uncrossing his arms and working his way around the chair until he’s standing behind Soonyoung. He places his hands on Soonyoung’s shoulders, grip firm enough to prevent Soonyoung from squirming out of it. “Well, work around it because we’re heading to Uruk.”

Soonyoung’s blood instantly runs cold and he twists in Jihoon’s grip to try and look at him, to look in his eyes and make sure that he hadn’t heard wrong or that Jihoon wasn’t joking. Who is he kidding? Jihoon looks like he wouldn’t know a joke if it hit him in the face. “What?! Did you just say what I think you said? Uruk?” His voice comes out slightly strangled over the name and he hopes that Jihoon doesn’t notice.

Jihoon smiles, and there it is, that same something gleaming in his eyes. He leans forward and Soonyoung knows he’s right by his ear, can feel the way his breath ghosts coolly over his it. “Why? Are you afraid, Kwon Soonyoung?”

No. Soonyoung isn’t afraid but he also isn’t stupid enough to think that going to Uruk is anything but dangerous and a huge, _huge,_ risk. The size of Jihoon’s battleship aside, of course. But, if Soonyoung is being honest, the sight of the battleship might even make things worse.

He twists away from Jihoon, glaring at him. “No. I am _not_ afraid but I would also like to be alive to enjoy the benefits of my crystal, which I might not be if we got to Uruk.”

Jihoon pulls away, frown knitting his brows as he stares down at Soonyoung. “Are you doubting my people’s ability to protect you?”

Soonyoung snorts. “Oh I don’t doubt you and your men know your way around the various weapons you have stashed upon your person. But, I do doubt that you actually know the kind of place Uruk is. Do you know it really? Have you been there?”

“Have you?”

“Of course not. I’m still alive, aren’t I? I don’t mess around with the kind of people that frequent the planet.”

Jihoon scoffs. “I know they’re nothing but a bunch of outlaws and criminals and that they have the crystal you need there.” He pulls aways and directs a pointed look at Soonyoung. “Or are you reconsidering the importance of that crystal to you?”

Soonyoung swallows, looking away from Jihoon at his hands cradled in his lap, lines of red encircling his wrists underneath the cuffs. He traces over one of them lightly while he tries to make sense of the situation. The crystal he wants is on Uruk. To get it, he will need to go to the planet with Jihoon and his giant, obnoxious battleship or he can kiss first place goodbye. He winces when he accidentally presses too hard against the raw skin. 

“Fine,” he says finally, looking back at Jihoon. “I’ll go but you have to promise that you’ll keep me safe on that godforsaken planet.”

Jihoon sniffs, crossing his arms as he walks back to stand in front of Soonyoung. “You’re so dramatic but _yes,_ we will protect you. We have to anyway; you’re the only one who knows where our crystal is.”

“That… That’s fair I guess,” Soonyoung shrugs. “Oh, and one more thing.”

Jihoon cocks his head. “Hmmm?”

“I call the shots.”

Jihoon actually bursts out laughing at that. Not the tiny giggles or the stifled laughter Soonyoung was expecting but a giant guffaw that has Soonyoung reeling backwards in surprise. Jihoon has to take a deep breath to compose himself before he can answer. “I’m sorry. That was just— I have never heard anything so ridiculous in my life.”

“I was being serious,” Soonyoung deadpans, meeting his gaze.

“And why would we do that? Let _you_ call the shots?”

Soonyoung shrugs. “I am the ‘criminal’ in your eyes, aren’t I? We’re going to a place that exists solely for criminals. It’s only logical.”

Jihoon frowns. “You have a point. But there is no way my men will listen to you.” He glances warily at the wall.

“They don’t need to listen to me,” Soonyoung says, leaning forward and resting his chin on his palm. “ _You_ need to listen to me, and your men will listen to you.”

“That could work, I guess,” he says and Soonyoung can almost pick out the disappointment in his voice.

“It can. And it will,” Soonyoung nods. “Trust me.”

Jihoon snorts. “You know that I will not. But I will allow you to take the lead when we are on the ground. No earlier.”

“Noted,” Soonyoung says with a smile knowing that this is probably the best that he can get out of Jihoon, especially with his current track record.

“Any sign that something’s up, though, and my men will not hesitate to shoot you where you stand,” Jihoon adds and this time it is Soonyoung who laughs.

“I expect nothing less, Commander General.” He wriggles his cuffs in front of Jihoon’s face. “Now, will you set me free? I’ve answered all your questions and I’m tired, and thirsty, and so hungry I could probably eat an entire ship load of food.”

“I highly doubt that,” Jihoon sniffs, looking down his nose at Soonyoung. “But alright, you may go. We will leave in exactly twenty four hours.”

“Great!” Soonyoung says, enthusiastically thrusting his cuffed wrists at Jihoon. “Uncuff me. As great as these look on me, I’d much rather have the use of my hands back.”

“You’re insufferable,” Jihoon retorts, bending down to unlock the cuffs from Soonyoung’s wrists and ankles before stepping away quickly almost like he expects Soonyoung to do something horrible, like kick him in the face (Soonyoung’s not going to lie, he had thought about it).

Instead, he grins at Jihoon as he stretches out his stiff limbs. “You’ve already said that.” Soonyoung flexes his wrists and ankles slowly to make sure he doesn’t aggravate the already-sensitive skin before standing up on slightly unsteady legs. Jihoon twitches and for a second Soonyoung thinks he’s going to reach for him but he scowls up (oh, how the tables have turned) at him instead.

“It is the truth.” He turns around and takes a step towards the door. “My men will show you off the ship. Do not be late, Kwon Soonyoung.” And then he is waving his hand and stepping through the steadily dissolving door.

Soonyoung sighs as he watches Jihoon pad down the long, white corridor until he rounds the corner; he really is nothing more than an ornery, old man. Soonyoung turns back to the wall. “Come on. You’re supposed to show me off this damn ship, aren’t you? Or would you prefer I try to find my way off myself? I don’t mind of course, but there’s no guarantee I won’t get lost and wander into areas I shouldn’t be going into.” He grins wickedly at the wall, which immediately dissolves much like their doors had done and Soonyoung takes a step back in shock.

The Astartian from earlier, Jun, he thinks Jihoon mentioned his name was, steps through it the displeasure clear on his sharp, feline features. “Oh, it’s you,” Soonyoung says with a smile that is none too friendly and Jun returns it in kind.

“You really are infuriating, you know that?” Jun says, striding past him on long legs that allow him to tower over Soonyoung. 

Soonyoung bows. “I live only to serve.”

Jun snorts, walking past him and out into the corridor without waiting for him to catch up. Soonyoung has to jog slightly to catch up with him and his legs protest the exertion but he knows that Jun is probably not going to stop to make sure Soonyoung is following him. He falls into step beside Jun once they pass the first branching corridor and Jun turns to regard him coolly.

“Are all humans like you?”

“What? Infuriating?” Soonyoung pants, heart already threatening to burst from the exhaustion that’s built up over the last few hours and the fact that he’d had to run on top of that. 

Jun makes a noise that sounds like something in between a grunt and a snort. “Stubborn. And prideful. And _loud._ ”

Soonyoung laughs at the sheer disdain in Jun’s voice. “Only the smart ones. Or the really stupid ones,” he says shooting Jun a smile, which he blatantly ignores. “Although, I think loud really is just me. And probably a handful of others.”

They get to the end of the corridor and step into the lift, which Soonyoung is surprised to find already open and waiting for them. This time, he braces for the sudden acceleration, exhaling deeply when it feels like his heart is thrown into his foot. He has to ask them what is up with this elevator.

Junhui leads them out of the lift and into another long and winding corridor and Soonyoung wonders how on earth they are able to tell them apart. Maybe the swirls of colour in the walls are some kind of language or something, although Junhui clearly knows the hallways by heart. He is busy attempting to memorise the turns they’re taking (again) when Junhui speaks.

“So, which one are you?”

Soonyoung starts, immediately losing track of the turns they’ve made so far and glares at Junhui who isn’t even looking at him. “What do you mean ‘which one’?”

“Smart or stupid?”

Soonyoung scowls. How the heck is he expected to answer that question? If he admits that he thinks he’s smart he’s probably just shooting himself in the foot but there is no way on titan he will be calling himself stupid either. So he goes for the only alternative he can think of, which, in hindsight, is probably not so great either. “What do you think?”

Jun casts a sideways glance at him. “Definitely stupid,” he hums with satisfaction.

Soonyoung sighs too tired to even fight back at the moment. He just wants off this giant ship with its eerily white walls and doors that dissolve like something out of a horror movie, which is what it feels like when he attempts to think back on the hours he’s spent aboard the vessel. He suppresses a shudder and returns his attention to the hallway, almost squealing when he recognises what has to be the entrance to the ship. 

He wants to pick up speed, to run on his stupid shaky legs to the door and out into the hangar so he can take himself home and crash for the next twelve hours. Except Jun has not increased his speed, in fact, it feels like he’s even slowed down a little and suddenly Soonyoung wants nothing more than to hit him. He scowls up at Junhui, who is still ignoring him although he can see the smile that is tugging at his lips. 

“You are just as infuriating,” he mutters under his breath.

“Sorry, what was that?” Jun hums and Soonyoung doesn’t need to look at him to know that Jun is smirking.

“You heard me,” Soonyoung snaps. He tries to take a few more steps past Jun but the Astartian remains resolute in his choice of pace and Soonyoung groans with frustration. He turns to Jun. “Look. You want me out of your hair, I wanna be out of your hair. Just let me off this ship and we both get what we want?”

Jun smiles at him, all teeth, the silver in his eyes glinting. “What makes you think I want you out of my hair when watching you squirm is just so _fun._ ”

“Oh my god,” Soonyoung moans, tugging at his hair. “Does Jihoon know you’re like this? I thought violence wasn’t a thing for your race, or is that only a Jihoon thing?”

Jun halts his steps, turning to Soonyoung with a look of something dark and threatening flashing across his face. “That’s Commander General to you. And this isn’t violent at all. I can show you violence if you want.”

Soonyoung sighs, he doesn’t know why Jun seems to hate him so much but he really doesn’t have the energy, or time for that matter, for a fight. Every minute spent here is a minute less he will have with his bed and with Wonwoo, who will probably kill him if he doesn’t at least say goodbye. 

“Look I don’t know what I did that pissed you off so much,” he says, turning back to Jun. “But you have days with me on this ship to torment me if you want. Just let me go now and I promise you I’ll give you the fight you’re asking for, hm?”

Jun narrows his eyes at him for a second but he starts walking again, and at a faster pace this time, thank god. “Fine. But I’m holding you to that.”

Soonyoung waves a hand at him. “Whatever.”

They get to the exit and Jun waves a hand in front of the door. It detaches from the ship’s body with a hiss, lowering itself into a ramp that leads down to the floor of the hangar. Soonyoung has to physically refrain himself from rushing out before the ramp is even lowered so that he can start kissing the floor of the hangar like some land-starved pirate who has finally seen the shore line again. 

He gives Jun a pat on the cheek, which Jun recoils from, when he hears the ramp thud against the floor of the hangar. “I’ll see you in twenty four hours. Don’t forget me.”

Jun doesn’t say anything but he looks like he is about a second away from spitting venom in Soonyoung’s face and he takes that as a win. He strolls down the ramp, mind already so fixated on the idea of a warm shower and a soft bed that he walks off it and out the hangar without even looking back.

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

He was right, of course, the shower had felt like a dream and he had stopped for some food on the way back to his apartment, downing a couple of convenience store sandwiches on top of a giant bottle of water (half of which he had chugged back in the store, worrying the poor old lady who had watched him from behind the counter). He had also been smart enough to set both an alarm and a countdown timer this time so that he wouldn’t be late back to the ship. He even called Wonwoo to let him know that he was back in civilisation and to come get him if he didn’t hear from him in twelve hours. All in all, that had led to the best sleep of Soonyoung’s life. Or, well, the last few days at least.

He wakes up to the smell of food once again, and smiles in contentment when he realises that it is, once again, Wonwoo padding around his little kitchenette as he tries to find enough counter space to both fry eggs and make pancakes. He looks like he had come over straight after he had woken up, still in an outfit that Soonyoung knows he wears to sleep, all of it with matching bedhead to boot. 

Soonyoung turns himself over so that he can stretch himself out, groaning when his joints crack loudly. Wonwoo startles at the noise and nearly spills pancake batter on himself. He turns towards Soonyoung who is watching him lazily from the comfort of his bed. 

“Why is it that every time you come back from a run-in with these Astartians you’re always all bruised and battered?” Wonwoo asks, returning his attention to the stove. 

Soonyoung watches as Wonwoo deftly flips the pancakes he has on the griddle while he deposits the eggs in a plate balanced precariously on the edge of the counter. “I can’t help that they hate me.”

Wonwoo snorts, dumping the pancake on top of the eggs and pouring more batter into the pan. “Please. Are you forgetting that I was there in the Council room? They seemed like a very,” he pauses, cogs in his head spinning extra hard as he thinks of the right word to use. “…civilised race. If they hurt you, it has to be because you did something stupid.”

Soonyoung groans, turning back around so that he is lying face down on the mattress. His entire body hurts from sitting in that chair for so long; his back, which is still bruised from their previous run-in, is now also definitely sore right down to his muscles and he figures that to be a consequence of getting electrocuted slightly all night long. His wrists and ankles, while slightly less raw are still tender and he winces into the mattress when his fingers find the line of red. 

He turns his head slightly so that his mouth isn’t pressed directly into the mattress. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. And you say _you’re_ my best friend.”

Wonwoo laughs, deep, husky and throaty, the same laugh he’s had since they were kids albeit a lot deeper and it has Soonyoung smiling too. “It is _because_ I’m your best friend that I know you would have done something or other to provoke them.” Wonwoo turns off the stove and turns to face Soonyoung, arms crossed as he leans against the counter. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

Soonyoung groans again and buries himself under the blanket. “You know I can’t do that because you’re always fucking right.”

“Damn right I am,” Wonwoo answers and Soonyoung can hear the smile in his voice when he says it. There is the faint sound of metal knocking against metal and then the sound of cutlery being gathered before Wonwoo speaks again, his voice a lot closer now. “Now, get up. I made you breakfast so you have to tell me everything.”

“This is emotional manipulation,” Soonyoung mumbles from under the covers. 

“Stop being dramatic.” There is a nudge against his ribs from what feels like Wonwoo’s toes and he yelps, rolling away from it instinctively. “Now get up, or I’m going to eat your share.”

“You wouldn’t,” Soonyoung gasps, flinging the blanket off him as he scoots himself off the bed and onto the floor where Wonwoo is waiting with a fork and a triumphant grin on his face. He snatches the fork out of Wonwoo’s hands. “You’re an absolute asshole.”

“Still not as bad you though,” Wonwoo quips, picking up his own fork and digging into the heaping plate of pancakes and eggs set between them.

“I literally just got back from being questioned to within an inch of my life. Can’t you cut me some slack?” Soonyoung complains around his mouthful of eggs. 

Wonwoo snorts. “You’re looking awfully alive for someone who was questioned to ‘within an inch of your life’.

Soonyoung flings a piece of pancake at him. “You try being cuffed for over twelve hours to a freaking chair that can shock the life out of you if you so much as speak at the wrong time.”

Wonwoo freezes, brows furrowing at his words. “They shocked you?”

Soonyoung immediately regrets mentioning the chair at the look on Wonwoo’s face. “Just a little, don’t worry. They wouldn’t actually hurt me while they’re still on New Titan. You know that.”

“What is this then?” Wonwoo asks, tossing his fork aside to reach for Soonyoung’s wrist which is a ghastly shade of pink where the cuffs had been and Soonyoung is suddenly grateful that he’d chosen to wear pants to sleep. “Does this look like they didn’t hurt you?”

“It wasn’t intentional, Wonwoo,” he says, taking his hand slowly out of Wonwoo’s grip. “They put me in cuffs, that’s all. Jihoon wouldn’t have let them hurt me.”

“Oh, on a first name basis with the Commander General I see,” Wonwoo scoffs, sitting back against his hands as he surveys Soonyoung. 

“Stop it. You know I only say it to piss him off,” Soonyoung retorts as he stabs at his eggs with an almost unfounded ferocity. 

“So what the hell happened to you then?” Wonwoo asks, and he hates that he can hear the concern that colours Wonwoo’s voice under all his surface-level annoyance. “What did you tell them?”

“Nothing,” Soonyoung answers. “I told them nothing.”

“Is that why they tortured you?” 

Soonyoung looks up and Wonwoo is looking at him with so much worry and concern that he immediately puts his plate aside so that he can sidle up to him. Wonwoo isn’t a big fan of being touched so he chooses to do the bare minimum that he knows Wonwoo can take, which is rest his head on Wonwoo’s shoulder. He feels Wonwoo relax slightly under him and the knot that’s been tying itself up in his chest begins to unravel.

“They didn’t torture me, Woo,” Soonyoung says softly. “You know me, I just like to make things difficult. For them. And for myself I guess.”

“You’re an idiot, you know that?” Wonwoo snaps but there’s no real heat behind it.

“How can I not know when you love to remind me of it every second of every day?” Soonyoung answers and he can feel the vibrations of Wonwoo’s laughter against his cheek. He shifts closer, careful to not crowd Wonwoo too much when he gets shoulder-checked lightly.

“So if you didn’t tell them, what did you say? What’s going to happen?” Wonwoo is twirling his fork in his hand repeatedly and Soonyoung has to resist the urge to snatch it from his fingers.

Instead he links his arm with Wonwoo’s, which is met by a small disgruntled noise and slight resistance from Wonwoo, which doesn’t last very long. “I made a deal.”

Wonwoo stills, the fork in his hand spinning to a stop. “What do you mean a deal? What did you get yourself into, Kwon Soonyoung?”

“Don’t worry,” Soonyoung says, nuzzling slightly into Wonwoo’s shoulder, which earns him another nudge from Wonwoo. “It’s nothing serious. It was a trade — he gives me another fuel source, I give him his crystal.” 

“And what is this other fuel source?” The fork has resumed it’s spin in Wonwoo’s hand.

Soonyoung takes a deep breath. “Another crystal.”

This time Wonwoo drops the fork and Soonyoung finds himself shoved away so that Wonwoo can look at him, the hands on his shoulders gripping him so tightly Soonyoung almost winces. “ _What_ other crystal?”

Wonwoo’s eyes are searching his and Soonyoung knows that he would sooner give the crystal to the Astartians than lie to Wonwoo. “There is another energy crystal, like theirs but less destructive. Jihoon promised he will give me that as long as I promised to give him his own crystal back.”

Wonwoo frowns. “So where is this crystal?”

And there it is, the big question. Or rather the question he’d been worrying about all night because he _knows_ Wonwoo is not going to be happy about him going to Uruk. He also knows that if he doesn’t tell Wonwoo, there will be worse things than death waiting for him when he gets back. _If_ he gets back. Soonyoung sighs. As much as he wants to not tell Wonwoo, he knows he will have to so he might as well rip the proverbial bandage off while the wound is still raw.

He takes a deep breath. “It’s on Uruk.”

“It’s what?!” Wonwoo yells, the grip on his shoulders tightening even more until Soonyoung is twisting out of his grasp. 

“Will you calm the fuck down?” Soonyoung hisses rubbing at his shoulders where he’s sure he’s going to find even more bruises tomorrow. “It’s just Uruk.”

“You know very well that it is not _just_ Uruk, Soonyoung,” Wonwoo snaps. “And I am assuming the Commander General has ordered that you go with him.” Soonyoung nods and Wonwoo groans running a hand through his hair until it’s sticking up at odd angles. “If I was afraid of you possibly dying on Drega, I am even more afraid now because your chances of making it out of Uruk alive are far, _far,_ less.”

“Thanks for that,” Soonyoung says with a wry smile. “Not like I wasn’t terrified enough about going.”

Wonwoo’s expression is immediately stricken and he grabs one of Soonyoung’s arms, careful to avoid the areas of raw skin. “Shit. I’m sorry. You know I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just—“

“You’re just worried. I know.” Soonyoung interrupts, placing a hand on top of Wonwoo’s on his arm. “But don’t be. I’ll be under Astartian protection and in case you haven’t noticed, they have a giant battleship.”

Wonwoo snorts. “How could I not? But you know I will always worry, especially when I’m not there to have your back.”

Soonyoung squeezes his hand gently, offering him a small smile. “Has anyone ever told you you’re a bit overprotective?”

That has Wonwoo finally breaking into a small chuckle, full smile back on his lips. “What can I say? Someone has to smother you.”

“You’re a pain,” Soonyoung says, smacking him lightly on the shoulder.

“As are you,” Wonwoo retorts, giving him a slap in return. 

They lapse into comfortable silence for a while, both of them returning to their breakfast. Soonyoung winces when he realises the food’s gone cold but he’s hungry and who knows how long it will be until he is able to have another meal with Wonwoo. It is only when they’ve both put their plates down that Wonwoo speaks again.

“You know,” he begins. “Uruk is quite far from here and I heard that it is a bitch to get to.”

Soonyoung actually did _not_ know that but he nods anyway to placate Wonwoo who continues. 

“Just— Just be careful okay? And text me updates this time you asshole. I can’t believe you went the entire trip to Drega without even keeping me updated.”

Soonyoung has a reason for that though; namely nerves and the fact that his trip ended an entire day early and with him nearly being shot out of space but he knows now isn’t the time to argue his case. Especially not when Wonwoo is like this and being exceptionally clingy, which is a rarity occurrence that happens maybe once in a decade. 

“Fine,” he answers. “I promise I’ll text you this time.”

“Good.”

“Great. Now get up, you gotta help me pack.”

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave your kudos and your thoughts! I want to know how you feel about it so far :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soonyoung leaves New Titan with the Astartians and ends up with more than he bargained for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I am so incredibly sorry for how late this update is but, if you know me (or are subbed to me) you would have realised that I've been a bit preoccupied with a lot of other works but I promise this is definitely still ongoing and will continue to be updated. 
> 
> I know not a lot of people are reading this at the moment but to those that are, I just want to say the hugest thank you for being like the literal reason I haven't actually given up on this entirely. This update might not be much, but there are new faces and new dynamics introduced here (that I love, personally) so I hope you enjoy! ♥︎

Soonyoung manages to sneak in another nap after Wonwoo helps him pack, or rather, after Wonwoo packs _for_ him. Not because he is incapable of packing himself but because he knows Wonwoo, and he knows that it probably means more to him than it does to Soonyoung so he had let him. 

Ten hours later he is back at the Astartian battleship, two extremely full overnight bags in hand as he waits for the ramp to be lowered so that he can get onboard. A large section of the hull where the door slowly separates from the main body of the ship, dark lines becomes clearer as the section swings downwards and onto the floor of the hangar. 

Soonyoung is glad he can appreciate the engineering ingenuity this time, now that he isn’t being held at figurative gunpoint. He marvels at the way the ramp had been completely indiscernible from the rest of the hull; it could have easily been made from a single solid piece of whatever it is the Astartians made their ships out of. He wonders whether, if he plays his cards right, he might be able to pick the brains of the ship’s lead engineer. Unless that turns out to be Jun, of course, in which case he’d rather just shoot himself in the foot and call it day.

He is greeted by the imposing figures of two Astartians who wait for him at the top of the ramp and Soonyoung swears he will never get over how they seem to glow softly, their paleness radiating soft waves of light, which he is now sure aren’t just figments of his own imagination. These two are two completely different Astartians from the ones who had been at the Council but they too have the same pale, almost snow-white skin and bone-coloured hair, clad even in the same all-white uniform. They bow lightly when Soonyoung approaches them, one of them even offers to take his bags but is given a look by the other that he swears could have killed him a couple times over.

The Astartian turns to Soonyoung after, all traces of emotion completely removed from his face. “Kwon Soonyoung, you are to come with us. We will show you to your quarters so that you may drop off your things but the Commander General has requested your presence on the bridge as soon as possible.”

Soonyoung studies him and can’t help but think he looks awfully young, maybe not by human standards but there is something in his eyes that hint at him being a lot younger than Jihoon. Granted, that could put him anywhere between Soonyoung’s age and a couple hundred human years. The Astartian watches him expectantly and Soonyoung realises that he hasn’t said anything yet.

“O-Oh,” he stammers out quickly, hoping that he hadn’t been caught staring. “Right. Uh, thank you. Did Jihoon, uh, sorry, the Commander General,” he amends quickly when he sees the immediate look of disapproval that settles on both the Astartians’ faces at his slip up. “Did he say why he wanted to see me?”

“To make sure you don’t do anything stupid,” the Astartian who had originally spoken answers with a smile that is oddly threatening and reminds him eerily of Jun’s. He suppresses a shudder. 

The other Astartian, the one who had been non-verbally reprimanded by this one jabs him in the ribs with a hiss. “Renjun.”

“What?” The first one (Renjun? Do all Astartians have names that end in Jun?) retorts, shoving him away slightly. Behind Soonyoung, the door of the ship closes with a low hiss cutting out all sounds from the hangar and blanketing them in silence. Soonyoung feels it immediately, a change in pressure that unbalances him slightly, but the Astartians seem completely unaffected by it and the sudden silence. Which, Soonyoung supposes, makes sense. He is brought back to their argument by the sound of Renjun’s voice, cutting through the thick cloth of silence like a hot knife. “Would you rather I say the other thing the Commander General said?”

Soonyoung immediately perks up and he levels a perfect replica of Renjun’s smile at him. “Oh? And what did the good ol’ Commander General say about me?”

“Nothing,” the second Astartian says at the same time that Renjun goes, “That you are a pretentious child who severely overestimates your own intelligence and that you have penchant for not being able to keep your thoughts to yourself.”

“Renjun,” the other Astartian says in exasperation and Renjun shoots him another dirty look.

“What? Am I wrong?” He turns back to Soonyoung who is watching the entire exchange with amusement. “Now, come on. We shouldn’t keep the Commander General waiting.”

Renjun turns on his heels, heading down the corridor opposite to the one he had gone down earlier without even a glance backward to make sure Soonyoung is following.

This corridor is exactly the same as the other one — the walls, ceiling and floor looking like they had been carved out of the same piece of white stone whose surface is inlaid with swirls of faint colour. The fact that all the hallways look completely identical has Soonyoung worried that he will never be able to walk around the ship without a guide, although he wouldn’t be surprised if that was the Astartians’ intention. 

He follows both of them down numerous corridors and they even pass by a couple of other Astartians who regard him with mild interest before he finds himself in a circular foyer. Doors are spaced evenly along the entire wall of the foyer, the same kind of doors like the one at the room he’d last been held at. He is taken to the one that is two doors down from the large door in the center of the room, and Renjun waves a hand in front of it to have it open, or well, disappear. 

He gestures towards the room. “This will be your quarters for the period of time you are on this ship. The Commander General’s quarters are just there,” he points towards the larger door in the center of the curved foyer wall, the only sign to indicate a difference between rooms. “And the rest of these quarters belong to the Commander General’s First Squadron so it would be wise to not try anything funny while you are here.”

Soonyoung doesn’t know if he should feel honoured or insulted that he is being forced to stay within such close proximity to Jihoon but he figures he can make it work to his advantage if he needs to. He shoots Renjun a smile that does absolutely nothing to convince Renjun of his sincerity. “I”ll be sure to keep that in mind,” he pauses. “Renjun, was it?”

Renjun merely rolls his eyes and jerks his head towards the room. “Please leave your things here, we are scheduled for departure soon and the Commander General would like to see you before we leave.”

Soonyoung knows a loss when he sees one so he bites back the retort he has balanced on the tip of his tongue and steps past Renjun into the room. It isn’t much; the walls are made from the same all-white, seamless material as the rest of the ship except for some recesses in the back that Soonyoung assumes to be a section of shelving and storage areas. The bed sits against the wall on the right, opposite the storage recesses with bedding in various shades of whites and grey. What Soonyoung had expected to be a wall at the end of the room is, in fact, what looks to be a huge floor-to-ceiling window. This takes Soonyoung by surprise seeing as it is quite apparent from the outside that the ship does _not_ have windows. 

He can’t help but feel the uptick in interest because, as annoying as the Astartians have been, Soonyoung doesn’t think he will ever get enough of Astartian technology. He drops his bags on the decidedly firm mattress and crosses the room to stand in front of the window, which actually looks out into the hangar from the back of the ship. Interesting. He can see everything clear as day too, from the hangar staff prepping the airlocks for the ship’s departure to the command of New Titan soldiers standing guard around the edges of the hangar, just in case.

He reaches out a finger and is about to tap it when someone clears a throat behind him. He turns around, frowning, finger still raised. Renjun levels him a completely unamused look. “You can examine your room later. We have kept them waiting long enough.” Beside him, the other Astartian fidgets nervously, eyes constantly shifting between them and the bracelet around his wrist. If anything, he looks even younger than Renjun and Soonyoung is suddenly filled with the overwhelming urge to coo at him.

Sighing internally, he gives in and walks over to them. “Fine. Take me to your leader.”

Renjun frowns at him. “The Emperor isn’t on this ship.”

Soonyoung blinks at him for a second, incredulous, before making a little strangled noise in his throat as he pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration. This is going to be a long trip. He waves them off vaguely. “Forget it. Just… Let’s go.”

They both give him one last curious look before turning around and walking back the way they came from. Soonyoung follows them, only slightly shocked that his door shuts behind him without needing some kind of stimulus. 

This time, the walk through the corridors is shorter, at least on the level they’re on because he is taken to another elevator like the one he’d been on before. They press the symbol on the top this time and the elevator shoots upward. Despite being prepared this time, it still leaves Soonyoung’s heart and stomach somewhere beneath him. His discomfort must show on his face and Renjun lets out a little huff of laughter before he steps out of the elevator. 

When they get off the elevator, he finds himself on a level that is completely unlike that of the other two he’s been on. While those had been mazes of unending white-walled hallways that always seemed to look the same no matter where he was taken, this floor looks like some kind of giant observation deck.

They are standing on the upper half of a huge circular antechamber while the other half — the part of the chamber furthest from them — sits about half a level lower. The upper deck is lined with different stations and control systems that are set in concentric rings around a large seat in the middle. All of this is set in front of what looks like a large white orb on a stand. 

The walls of this deck are the furthest thing from the swirling pearlescent material that the hallways below are made out of — these walls are lined with arrays of panels full of buttons and blinking lights. Soonyoung even notices a holographic map on the far end hovering over a round, flat white table with pretty digital representations of their solar system and the ones around them.

Each of the control stations is manned by a single Astartian, most of whom don’t pay any attention to them. Some of them are speaking into earpieces in a language that is distinctly _not_ human — it is a lilting melodic language that reminds Soonyoung of the first time he’d heard Jihoon speak, smooth and flowing, almost like he was singing. It is a beautiful language, much like everything about the Astartians, really. He only wishes he wasn’t here under his current circumstances, which has warped the entire experience into something a lot less bright, a lot less beautiful.

The lower deck, from what he can see, contains fewer control stations but it opens up into the largest viewscreen he has ever seen. It spans the bottom of the lower deck all the way to the highest point of the curve towards the ship’s ceiling, giving them a completely unrestricted view of the entire hangar in front of them. Of course, like it had been with the window in his room, from the outside of the ship, this had looked like nothing more than solid hull. He studies the giant window as he is directed towards the central seat on the upper deck, wondering if maybe it isn’t actually transparent but rather some kind of screen displaying an accurate visual of what is in front of them. The Astartians would certainly have the technology to do it.

When they round the central seat, Soonyoung realises that it isn’t, in fact, empty. Jihoon is sitting in the chair, scanning through holo panels that seem to hover above the seat’s armrests, which were completely hidden from view when they had stepped out of the elevator. He looks up when he sees them approach, Renjun and his friend immediately snapping to attention, which forces a snort of amusement out of Soonyoung. They bow to Jihoon who nods back at them.

“We have Kwon Soonyoung here, Commander,” Renjun says in a manner so completely different to how he had been just moments before that Soonyoung can’t help but shoot him a questioning look. Of course, Renjun isn’t looking at him but Jihoon notices and he looks between the two of them with something akin to mild interest before going back to his panels.

“Thank you, Renjun. And I take it that you’ve already shown him to his quarters too?”

“Yes, sir,” Renjun answers so primly that Soonyoung has to swallow a snort. 

“They’ve been very accommodating,” Soonyoung says, stepping in.

Jihoon raises an eyebrow at him over the top of his panel. “Have they, now?”

Soonyoung looks over to find the tips of Renjun’s ears tinged so pink, he almost wants to laugh. Instead, he throws an arm around the young Astartian who lets out a startled grunt and flushes even more. “Oh yes. I think we’re going to get along so well.”

He grins at Renjun, who only scowls up at him as he tries to subtly detach himself from Soonyoung’s grip. Jihoon looks between the two of them before sighing and waving a hand over the arm rests, which has the panels disappearing. “Alright, that’s enough. Renjun, Jisung, you two are dismissed. You may return to your stations. Soonyoung, I’ll need you to remain here. We need to talk.”

Soonyoung raises his brow questioningly as Renjun and Jisung bow and take their leave. “Oh? We have to talk?”

Jihoon sighs, leaning back against the seat. “Yes, we do. I was supposed to brief you on the journey to Uruk as I’m sure you’ve at least heard how dangerous it is.”

Soonyoung nods and Jihoon continues. “Unfortunately, since you’ve arrived so late I will not have time to do so before we take off.” He shoots Soonyoung a mild glare and Soonyoung, for all that he tries, still feels moderately chastised. He offers Jihoon a sheepish smile but Jihoon ignores it, pulling up a panel effortlessly from his armrest. He glances at the words that are also written in a beautiful curling script. Trust the Astartians to have beautiful written language too. “That should be in a couple minutes. My officers are running the last of their checks now. While that is taking place, I want you to take a seat at the station in the corner on the lower deck.” He gestures to one of the few empty control stations that is standing in the far corner of the lower deck. “Our jumps to light speed are probably a lot smoother than the ones you make on your ship but we’d rather you be seated just in case.”

Soonyoung gapes at him. “Did you just… Insult my _ship?_ ”

Jihoon looks up at him passively. “Of course not. I merely made an observation.”

Soonyoung stares at him in shock. How dare he pass judgement on his ship? He opens his mouth to argue, heat rushing to his head because Soonyoung is nothing if not extremely sensitive when it comes to his ship, and every other thing he’s built from scratch. “You’ve literally seen my ship once! You can’t—”

“Soonyoung!” He is cut off by Jihoon snapping at him. “We can continue this later. Can you please sit down. Now. Unless you’d rather be standing, of course. Our inertial dampeners are good but they _are_ also calibrated for Astartian physiology.” He shrugs, jerking his chin towards the empty control station once more. “Your choice.”

Soonyoung glowers at him but he mutters a low ‘fine’ anyway before storming off towards the lower deck, carefully avoiding the Astartians running about making their final checks. He gets to the station only to find that it is, disappointingly not even an active one — the switches along the panel remaining dull and unlit even after he’s sat himself in the seat and strapped himself in. He tries to do what Jihoon does, waves a hand over the console, but nothing happens. He frowns, gently prodding a few of the switches and wondering if all the technology on the ship is somehow coded to Astartian DNA. 

He glances back up at the upper deck only to find Jihoon watching him in mild amusement and he frowns at him slightly before returning his gaze to the controls in front of him. Of course, Jihoon would have him sit at an inactive console — if not to taunt him with technology he can’t even begin to comprehend then for the sheer fact that Jihoon doesn’t trust him, which, he concedes grudgingly, is fair. At least he has an amazing view. 

The station that he is at is right along the far right of the lower deck, placing him at one of the stations closest to the large window. Even though they are still in the hangar, just the sheer amount of _everything_ that he is able to see because of how huge this window is, absolutely floors him. He can’t even imagine what it will look like once they get to space.

Speaking of space, he realises that the engines have been fired up, the low rumbling sending vibrations through the floor and into his seat. It isn’t as jarring as the vibrations in his ship but he can feel it nonetheless. The ship jerks slightly and then they are lifting off the floor of the hangar, Soonyoung watching starry-eyed as they slowly peel away from the hangar wall they were parked in front of. 

The chute in this one is similar to the one in the hangar his own ship is parked in, except it is a whole lot bigger to accommodate the occasional diplomatic envoy that visits from their neighbouring solar systems. The ship rotates and lines itself up with the opening of the chute and Soonyoung can hear the buzz of conversations as the Astartians coordinate with each other. 

It is a whole new experience for Soonyoung, being in a ship this large, one that has numerous levels and requires a whole company of officers at its helm for it to even get off the ground. He also realises now that Jihoon had been right, they must have hit Soonyoung’s ship with a specially calculated blast because a ship this huge would have been able to blow Soonyoung’s to pieces without any trouble. He looks around at the giant control room — he could probably fit at least two of his ships in this room alone, he doesn’t want to think about how many he can fit into the rest of this ship.

They clear the chute without any real problem, despite what the small part of Soonyoung’s brain is telling him about the ship being way too big and that they are going to get stuck. Because, of course, they don’t and then then they are out into the swirling mass of gas that covers the entire surface of his planet. It is one thing to see it through the tiny viewscreen of Soonyoung’s own ship but to see the surface of his home planet to the extent that he can see through the giant screen of this shape is something else entirely. 

From where he is sitting, just a few paces away from the window, he can make out the rocky landscape of his planet’s surface, can see the way the gasses shift in layers over the surface. It is so clear and so close that Soonyoung feels like if he reaches out his arm it is going to go through the window and right into the swirling reddish brown mass. This all happens in the split second that they are hovering over the closing hatch and then they are leaving the surface behind and shooting straight up towards the atmosphere and out into space.

Jihoon was right, their inertial dampeners are leagues better than Soonyoung’s and he barely even flinches at the sudden acceleration. He looks around and is only slightly surprised to see that some Astartians aren’t even sitting down, many of them standing in front of the panelled walls or crossing from one station to another as they work on the different controls needed to fly this behemoth of the ship. 

They break through the atmosphere into the quiet darkness of space and something in Soonyoung uncoils a little as he takes in the minuscule fraction of the universe shown before him. There has always been something about space, about flying, that relaxes him. Something about the way the space before him stretches and seems to go on forever into nothing, how it _is_ nothing, and Soonyoung is merely a speck in its boundless expanse. He relaxes slightly in the chair, allowing the feeling of being _out there_ to wash over him, disregarding the fact that this isn’t his ship and that he isn’t actually flying. 

The ship changes direction once it moves far enough away from New Titan, the coordinates for their destination probably keyed into the ship’s navigation systems long before they’d even started their engine. There is a slight hum and a change in the frequency of the vibrations running through the ship and Soonyoung braces against his chair as he readies for the jump.

There is a crack like a whip before a tear appears in the fabric of space just a couple of miles from the ship, the light from stars long past already bending into the familiar multicoloured arcs of the lightspeed slipstream across the crack. The ship shudders and then jolts forward into the tear and then they are in it, inside the light speed slip strip with Soonyoung barely feeling anything more than a tug somewhere behind his navel. A strange sensation but definitely better than being slammed against the back of your seat. He makes a mental note to use his next winnings to buy better inertial dampeners for his own ship.

Outside the window, the light speed slip stream is beautiful and he ignores Jihoon’s orders to remain in his seat, choosing to forgo safety in favour of walking right up to the screen so that he can watch the lights of stars streak past. He is so mesmerised by the view that he doesn’t notice Jihoon coming up beside him until he speaks, bursting the little bubble Soonyoung had created for himself.

“Enjoying the view?” Jihoon asks quietly. Soonyoung tears his gaze away from the slip stream to look at Jihoon who is also looking outside.

“It’s amazing. Everything about this,” he gestures around him. “Your ship. It just… It defies so many laws of physics I can’t even begin to comprehend _how._ I have so many questions.”

Jihoon laughs lightly at that, not looking away from the window, which gives Soonyoung the chance to watch as the lights from the stars in the slipstream dance across Jihoon’s face in multicoloured streaks. If Jihoon had looked like he was glowing before then it is nothing compared to what he looks like now, kaleidoscope of colours streaking across his face and his hair complementing the violet of his eyes. Soonyoung almost doesn’t realise he is staring until Jihoon turns to him and he has to force his eyes back to the view outside the window.

“You can ask, you know,” Jihoon says, and it is almost soft the way he is speaking to him now. Softer at least than any other time they’d spoken in the past. It almost takes Soonyoung by surprise. “The questions.”

“Hmmm?” Soonyoung asks, glancing back at him.

Jihoon meets his gaze and there’s a small smile playing on his lips. “The questions. About the ship and our technology. I’m sure our engineers will be more than willing to entertain you, especially since you claim to get along so well.”

The smile becomes a smirk and Soonyoung baulks. “The two— from before? Renjun and Jisung? _They’re_ your engineers?”

There is a sparkle in Jihoon’s eyes that Soonyoung isn’t sure he’s entirely fond of when he answers, arms crossing nonchalantly. “Yes. Why? They’re some of our best, actually.”

“But they’re… they’re…” Soonyoung splutters, gesturing helplessly at nothing in particular.

“They’re?” Jihoon asks, quirking an eyebrow at Soonyoung. “If you’re about to say that they seem young, I’ll have you know that they’re both at least a century older than you. If not more.”

Soonyoung’s jaw falls open and he has to quickly shut it before he makes a fool of himself even more. “A _century?_ ” 

“Of course. We wouldn’t take anyone less experienced on this journey.”

Soonyoung looks back to survey the other Astartians wandering the decks, how all of them look no older than himself, the differences in age only noticeable in the way they speak and interact with one another. It is a concept so out of this world to Soonyoung that he can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to live for so long, to not grow old. Not in the way he, as a human, will at least.

He returns his gaze to Jihoon who is watching him closely. He opens his mouth, the question on the tip of his tongue but he shakes his head and shelves the thought for another day. “You said you were going to brief me on the journey?”

The sudden change in direction of the conversation catches Jihoon by surprise and he stares at Soonyoung for a few seconds before he catches on. “Oh. Right!” He clears his throat lightly before continuing. “The journey to Uruk will take a few days, even at our ship’s light speed and, from what we heard, the journey isn’t an easy one to make. We don’t know why or what will make it difficult because there have been no accounts of the journey but we have to be prepared for—“

His words are cut short when the ship lurches suddenly throwing both Jihoon and Soonyoung against the window. Jihoon’s reflexes save him from what would have been a hard knock but Soonyoung isn’t so lucky — he slams into the window, his already injured shoulder immediately sending spikes of pain through his arm. 

He clutches at his arm and is almost flung in the opposite direction when a firm grip closes around his arm and hauls him upright, sending more pain shooting through his shoulder. He looks up to find Jihoon already braced against the window and looking at him. He gives Soonyoung’s arm an apologetic squeeze before turning his attention to the Astartians who are currently scrambling around the deck in the most frenzied state he has ever seen them in. 

Sparks fly from some of the controls stations and the panels at the back, and someone shouts in panic. Another Astartian is almost flung head first into a control station as the ship jerks again and they fall out of light speed completely. Above it all there is the occasional crackle and spark of energy as more control systems start to short-circuit.

“What is happening?” Jihoon asks, voice somehow carrying over the noise of the ship and its crew as the ship continues to shudder until it finally drops out of light speed with one final lurch that would have thrown Soonyoung clean across the lower deck if Jihoon still hadn’t been holding onto him.

“What is happening?” Jihoon repeats, louder this time, and a very frazzled looking Astartians comes running down the steps, a translucent holo tablet in hand. She stops in front of Jihoon, head dipping into a quick bow before she hands the tablet over to him.

“We’ve run into some trouble, sir,” she says and Soonyoung has to stop himself from snorting because _obviously_ they have. “It appears we’ve flown right into an asteroid belt.”

Jihoon looks up from the tablet and frowns at her. “What?”

Soonyoung takes that moment to look outside and sure enough, he sees that they are completely surrounded on all sides by floating pieces of rock and debris of varying sizes — some are so small they would have been like flies on the ship’s proverbial windshield but then a piece that looks about double the size of the Astartian vessel floats pass and Soonyoung’s jaw nearly drops for the second time that night. If they had been flying at light speed, that rock would have smashed them to pieces, shields be damned.

“How did this happen?” Jihoon asks, and Soonyoung turns back to where Jihoon is handing the tablet back to the girl. “The computer should have plotted a course around it.”

“That’s the thing, sir,” she answers and Soonyoung sees the faint glimmer of fear in her eyes. “This wasn’t detected, not on our sensors or any map the computer could have used. It’s like it appeared out of nowhere.”

“Well, we all know these things don’t just happen,” Jihoon says, voice level and stern — a complete one eighty from that way he had been talking to Soonyoung just moments before. “Find out how we could have missed it and then plot a course out of it. I will steer us out of it manually if I have to.”

“Yes, sir,” the Astartian girl nods before returning back to the upper deck where the other officers have started to congregate around her.

Jihoon turns to look at him, his frown deepening when he takes in the way Soonyoung is cradling his right arm and wincing occasionally as sparks of pain shoot through his shoulder. 

“Are you alright?” He asks, slowly releasing Soonyoung when he realises the death grip he still has around his arm.

Soonyoung nods, ignoring the flare of pain that comes with the slight motion. “I’m fine,” he says through gritted teeth because he is, this is nothing a quick massage and some anti-inflammation medication won’t cure.

Jihoon looks at him like he doesn’t believe him but he finally turns away. “If you say so. If you want to, you can go back to your quarters to rest while we figure this out. I don’t know if—“

He is interrupted again when Renjun bursts onto the floor of the upper deck, hair falling in a mess over his eyes as they dart around the room clearly looking for Jihoon. He dashes down the stairs to the lower deck, taking it a couple of steps at a time until he comes to a huffing and puffing halt in front of a slightly bemused Jihoon.

“Sir,” he pants out, clearly trying his hardest to not look like he is about to hyperventilate. “Sir, the light speed drive is down.”

“The what?!”

Renjun takes a huge lungful of air before continuing and Soonyoung has to resist the urge to give him a pat on the back. “The light speed drive. It’s down. Went offline after something smashed into the ship. It’s the reason we dropped out of light speed.”

Jihoon frowns. “Are you saying that wasn’t us dropping out of light speed on our own?”

Renjun shakes his head, still slightly frantic. “No, sir.”

Jihoon sighs and Soonyoung understands how he must be feeling. Without their light speed drive, they will definitely not be able to make it to Uruk, or even back to New Titan for that matter. Not when regular engines can only run at a mere fraction of light speed. 

Regardless of all that, though, their priority should be getting the ship out of the asteroid belt because, right now, in the middle of a moving belt of rocks that could span light years, they are completely stuck. A functioning light speed drive will mean nothing if they can’t get the ship out of this. It is this thought that has Soonyoung cutting into the conversation.

“With all due respect, Commander,” Soonyoung interrupts, the use of Jihoon’s title earning him a surprised look from the Commander General. “I think we should focus on navigating through this asteroid belt first. And, if you will let me, I’ll be more than happy to help with the light speed drive.”

Renjun immediately shakes his head. “No way, he’s just going to get in our way.”

Soonyoung scowls at him. “I know that you think I’m too young. That maybe the twenty one years of knowledge could not possibly compare to the century you have on me. But I did build my own ship so, whatever you’re thinking, you can’t deny that I know my way around a light speed drive.”

Renjun shoots Jihoon a pleading look but Jihoon merely looks at him thoughtfully, fingers tapping against his chin as he weighs the possible pros and cons of Soonyoung working with the engineering team. Now, Soonyoung knows that Jihoon is aware that this is definitely his way of gaining access to their light speed drive, but he also knows that they need all the hands they can have on deck at the moment if they want to get out of this situation alive and with time to spare. 

In the end, Jihoon relents, much to Renjun’s chagrin who shoots Soonyoung the dirtiest look he’s ever seen (which is saying something because Jun had been a pretty solid contender for dirty looks). “Fine. Soonyoung, you have my permission to help Renjun and the other engineers but you are to listen to him at all times. Understood? I’ll leave it to him to decide what he wants to do with you.” He sighs, rubbing his eyes as he glances out the window at the heaving mass of rocks that surrounds the ship. “I’ll work with the crew on deck to get us out of this belt.”

Renjun nods reluctantly before gesturing for Soonyoung to follow him back up the stairs to the elevator. Meanwhile, Jihoon heads straight for the giant seat in the middle, hands coming up to rest on the giant orb that stands raised in front of it. The last thing Soonyoung sees before he steps into the elevator is the orb glowing the same pearlescent white as the walls of the ship, except brighter, under Jihoon’s fingertips, and the ship slowly starts to reposition itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments really make my day, even if you literally just leave me a thumbs up emoji ♥︎
> 
> But also, thoughts on the new characters maybe? ;)
> 
> \-------------------------------------
> 
> Come yell at me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/moonfleur_) or [curious cat](https://curiouscat.qa/moonfleur_)


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He recognises that same tension now in the way Renjun is carrying himself, his upper torso completely stiff even as he tries to maintain as calm a facade as possible while nodding his greetings to any of the other Astartians they pass. Soonyoung quickens his pace until he is walking alongside Renjun, head turning slightly to take in the worried expression that has seemed to have found a permanent home on this poor Astartian’s face.
> 
> “Hey,” he says quietly and Renjun jumps almost like he’s completely forgotten that Soonyoung is there with him. “How bad is it?”
> 
> Renjun schools his expression quickly before giving Soonyoung a look that is almost entirely unreadable. “It’s bad.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mildly beta-ed but completely unedited because I just wanted to get this out on time so I hope you don't mind any minor mistakes and inconsistencies.
> 
> I hope you enjoy anyway! ♡

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

This time, Renjun is completely silent as he leads Soonyoung into the elevator, which takes them down to the lowest level — the same one that Soonyoung had been taken to the first time he had been brought onto the ship.

When they get out of the elevator, Soonyoung is surprised by the sheer number of Astartians running about. Many of them are dressed in a uniform similar to Renjun’s so he can only assume that they are also engineers, but there are also others dressed in what he assumes to be more senior uniforms — high-collared with varying lengths of aiguillettes attached to their left shoulders. The only thing in common between the two different ranks is the look of sheer panic and stress and all their faces.

Soonyoung recalls what Jihoon had mentioned earlier — how he only took on experienced military officers — and he can’t help but wonder what kind of experience they’ve had. Especially for a race that is supposed to be as reclusive as the Astartians. 

He recognises that same tension now in the way Renjun is carrying himself, his upper torso completely stiff even as he tries to maintain as calm a facade as possible while nodding his greetings to any of the other Astartians they pass. Soonyoung quickens his pace until he is walking alongside Renjun, head turning slightly to take in the worried expression that has seemed to have found a permanent home on this poor Astartian’s face.

“Hey,” he says quietly and Renjun jumps almost like he’s completely forgotten that Soonyoung is there with him. “How bad is it?”

Renjun schools his expression quickly before giving Soonyoung a look that is almost entirely unreadable. “It’s bad.” 

Renjun turns then into one of the side corridors leading away from the central walkway and Soonyoung can already start to feel the heat wafting from what can only be the nearby engine room. They weave themselves through small clusters of Astartians as the hallways get steadily warmer until they finally come to a halt in front of another unassuming door that looks almost identical to all the others on board the ship.

Unlike the others though, there is a red light above it, the only source of colour in their never-ending white hallways and it flashes dangerously as Renjun draws close enough to get it to open. The door dissolves with a wave of Renjun’s hand and Renjun turns to look at him, brows furrowed.

“Look,” he says stiffly, eyes darting between Soonyoung and the engine room. “I don’t know why the Commander General wanted you down here, I don’t know what he expects you to do, so just stay out of our way.”

Soonyoung scowls. “Just because I’m younger than you in years doesn’t mean I’m stupid, Renjun. I built my racer when I was fifteen and my ship when I was eighteen so I know my way around a light speed drive. Just let me have a look, that’s all I ask.”

Renjun sighs but his gaze softens slightly. “Fine. But you are not to do anything without clearing it with me first, do you understand?”

Soonyoung claps him on the shoulder and offers him a small smile. “Don’t worry. I know when to behave myself. Now, tell me just how bad it is.”

Renjun nods, taking a step into the engine room. It is a complete furnace in there, way hotter than what his own workshop would be on a bad day. The minute he crosses the threshold he can feel himself start to sweat, the moisture clinging to him like a second layer of some really damp, uncomfortable skin. Beside him, he sees Renjun hiss as the heat hits him too before he’s shaking it off and walking into the mess that the engine room has devolved into.

There are broken pipes venting gas and hot steam into the room, which explains the uncomfortable temperature. The other engineers are gathered into groups, some of them working on the broken pipes, some of them gingerly working their way through consoles on the walls that seem to have short-circuited themselves during their drop from light speed.

Renjun ignores all of them and goes straight to the giant structure in the middle, it looks a lot like a larger version of the crystal — a sleek pillar of pearlescent white almost completely smooth save for the streak of black that covers the side facing them. On its side, a small panel has been opened and Soonyoung can make out the wires hanging out from it as one of the Astartian engineers tries to sort through them. 

The engineer shifts out of the way when he notices them approaching, bowing to Renjun slightly as he allows Renjun to take a look at the damage. Soonyoung crouches down beside him, ignoring the slightly annoyed look Renjun shoots at him as he leans over to get a better look at the inside of what Soonyoung can only assume must be their light speed drive. Thankfully, for all that it looks like wholly Astartian technology, its insides are still vaguely reminiscent of Soonyoung’s own light speed drive. Or, at the very least, the wires and parts seem to be connected in a very similar way to his own.

Leaning closer, Soonyoung can see where there seems to be a burn mark across what could only be the main circuit board of the drive, the wires connected to the section having been completely severed from it. Some of them hang suspended over the board, wires sparking any time it gets too close to the little silver pins sticking out from the board. Renjun reaches in to try and grab at the circuit but Soonyoung stops him with a hand on his wrist.

“Don’t. There’s still live current flowing through this. If any of those wires touch you while you’re holding onto that board…” he trails off, gaze drifting back to where the wires are still spitting out the occasional spark here and there.

Renjun pulls his hand away with a sniff. “I know. Thankfully, Astartians are electrically non-conductive so those wires touching me will have about the same effect as those wires coming into contact with a piece of rubber. I’ll be fine.”

True to his word, when Renjun reaches in to grab the damaged circuit board out of the panel, skin gratuitously coming into contact with all the live wires, he doesn’t so much as blink. Huh. Soonyoung has even more questions now but he figures he should hold off on asking them until they actually figure out what is wrong. Or well, how they can fix it since the burn mark is pretty self-explanatory.

Renjun sets the board, which is a lot thicker and bulkier than Soonyoung had expected, on the ground between them in all its white and silver plated glory. The damage looks almost irreparable — scorch mark aside, some of the pins have been melted and cracks branch out from the middle of the scorch mark like tiny veins. Soonyoung meets Renjun’s gaze and knows immediately that the drive is completely shut unless they have something else they can use to replace it, which, judging by the look on Renjun’s face, they do not.

“What now?” He asks, prodding gently at the damaged piece of circuitry. There really is nothing they can do, the molten metal pins having destroyed any and all chances they might have had to repair it. 

Renjun looks at him, and there is something in his eyes that makes Soonyoung pause. He looks down at the board and then back at Soonyoung, eyes wide. “I… I don’t know. I don’t know what to do. Fuck!”

He buries his head in his hands and some of the Astartians pause in what can only be shock at Renjun’s outburst, which Soonyoung realises is pretty warranted considering he’s never once heard any of the Astartians swear in any way, shape or form. He places an arm carefully on Renjun’s shoulder.

“You can do this. You’re, what, over a hundred years old and you’re telling me you’ve never faced a broken light speed drive? C’mon. I’m twenty-one and even I’ve had to deal with a failed light speed drive.”

“Yes, but ‘failed’ isn’t damaged beyond repair,” Renjun mumbles miserably into his hands. “I don’t even know how this one got so damaged, we usually have fail safes in place to stop this from happening.”

“Well,” Soonyoung begins, shifting so that he is seated cross-legged in front of Renjun. “If you have fail-safe you must have other things, backups, something you can use in the interim. Your race is millennia ahead of mine in terms of age and experience, I’m sure you would have prepared for something like this.”

Renjun sighs, lifting his head from where it’s buried in his arms. “It’s been a while since an Astartian vessel has left our solar system. We’re not exactly explorers as I’m sure you’ve been able to tell, and we don’t fight battles either. Many of our ships are not active unless they’re being used in routine exercises.”

Soonyoung frowns. Just how reclusive are these Astartians? He shakes the thought from his mind; there are other things he has to focus on first. He coaxes Renjun into a seating position, ignoring the fact that they are sitting in the middle of a boiling engine room surrounded by at least a dozen other Astartian engineers who are all giving them weird looks. 

“Okay, fine. Let’s say this hasn’t happened before, and let’s say that this is the only board you have for the light-speed drive. Do you perhaps have another board, one that is being used for a non-essential or, well,” he gestures vaguely. “Less essential system. Like…” Soonyoung pauses. “Would your shields be counted as something less essential?”

Renjun’s head shoots up immediately from where he had been staring into the ground as if the ground was suddenly going to start spewing answers and extra light speed drives. He grabs Soonyoung’s arm. “The shield drives!”

“Yes,” Soonyoung says, suppressing a laugh at the way Renjun looks very much like a startled animal, eyes wide and positively shining. “How many of them do you have?”

“We have four,” Renjun breathes out. “Holy shit! I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.” He glances at Soonyoung warily. “This is slightly embarrassing.”

Soonyoung laughs at the almost sour expression on Renjun’s face. “Don’t worry, I promise I won’t say a word of it to Jihoon or whoever your direct superior is.”

Renjun narrows his eyes as he pushes himself up off the floor and offers a hand to Soonyoung who accepts. “I don’t believe you in the slightest.”

Soonyoung grins. “Believe what you want. Although, no promises that I won’t tell them about the absolutely foul mouth you have on you, though.”

Surprisingly, Renjun snorts before gesturing for Soonyoung to follow him to the other end of the engine room. “Did you think all of us spoke like the Commander? He’s ancient and probably hasn’t hung around with people other than the Emperor and his consort for the last couple hundred years. I don’t think that is a very good gauge on our ability to speak your language.”

Renjun guides them to the far end of the engine room where there is another door that leads to another room similar to the one they’d just left except about half its size. There are fewer people in this room, which makes sense seeing as nothing in here looks damaged at all. This one also has a large pillar in the middle that looks like a giant cylinder of polished white stone, faint swirls of colour shift beneath its surface to make it look like a giant tube of swirling gas.

Renjun turns and eyes him curiously as he waits for a response. “What?” he asks. “Hate to break it to you but you do sound like an old man occasionally.”

Renjun scoffs, turning away from him to crouch in front of the pillar. “Sorry, my English is a little rusty. It’s not every century that we have a reason to meet your species.”

That is fair, Soonyoung thinks, remembering the language he had heard when he’d first stepped onto the command deck. If he considers how rarely the Astartians must leave their homeworld, it really is surprising that they even know English at all. 

He watches as Renjun waves a hand in front of a small section of the pillar and lines start to appear, opening into a panel similar to the one they had opened in the light-speed drive. He crouches down to get a better look and is surprised to find the inside almost identical to the light-speed drive save for a couple of notches and grooves in the board.

“Woah,” he breathes, amazement colouring his voice. “They’re almost identical. Are all your drives like that?”

Renjun laughs lightly as he reaches into the panel, a pretty little sound so different to Jihoon’s but also strangely similar. He writes it off as an Astartian thing. “Mainly. Yes.” Renjun answers as he gently disconnects the wires inside the panel. “Most of our technology is based off of the same generic code and design before it is altered to fit the task we need it to do. I don’t really know how to explain it without actually going into detail about how we harness particles and their energy but, yes. Most drives are similar in their basic makeup.”

“That’s amazing.”

Soonyoung can’t help but marvel at the board as Renjun delicately removes it from the panel — it looks almost exactly the same, or as alike as it can be to a board that’s been practically melted. There is so much going on in his mind right now — the fact that the Astartians have managed to compound all technology into one singular, basic form. Something that humans still haven’t been able to do despite their own technological improvements over the millennia. His fingers itch to have a closer look; maybe he can convince Renjun to let him take back the damaged board to study.

The minute Renjun pulls out the board, a quadrant of the giant pillars grows dim, the swirls disappearing and shifting into the neighbouring sectors instead. Soonyoung watches in thinly veiled amazement as the quadrant goes from a soft, pearlescent glow to a dull, polished white stone. He looks back at Renjun who is closing up the panel with another wave of his hand.

“The ship will be alright, right?” he can’t help but ask. There are still three other shield drives but he knows the rest of the journey could be just as dangerous as this, plus it’s not like Uruk is going to give them a warm welcome.

Renjun shoots him a wry smile as he stands up from the ground, the board clutched tightly in his hand. “We have enough shields to take a couple of hits.”

He says nothing else as he makes his way back to the engine room, which, thankfully seems to have lowered in temperature and is only slightly uncomfortably warm. Renjun bypasses the central drive pillar again as he leads Soonyoung to a little corner bench opposite the main entrance that Soonyoung hadn’t noticed before. There are tools scattered over its surface along with notes — actual, physical notes that has Soonyoung’s eyes almost bulging out of their sockets — which Renjun stacks hurriedly and shoves into a corner.

He lays the board out onto the table, fingers already reaching for the tools he will need when he addresses Soonyoung. 

“Could you grab me the damaged board, please?” he asks, startling Soonyoung out of his thoughts.

“Oh! Uh, right. Of course.”

Soonyoung leaves him at the bench to grab the damaged light speed circuit board that is still lying on the ground, completely untouched despite the heavy foot traffic around the area. When he gets back, Renjun is already removing and resetting some of the metal pins on the shield drive board — a delicate task — so he waits until Renjun is done with the last pin before placing the light drive board on the bench by Renjun’s arm.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” he asks hoping that Renjun isn’t going to leave him standing there completely idle. But, alas, there is nothing much for him to do seeing as he doesn’t have the necessary understanding of Astartian technology. He can’t even help to pass Renjun tools because none of them look like the tools he is used to, and they are probably called some strange Astartian names too.

Renjun, to his credit, looks sufficiently apologetic when he tells Soonyoung that there is nothing more that he can do. “You’ve done enough, though,” he says, placing a hand on Soonyoung’s arm reassuringly. “If it wasn’t for you my head would still be stuck up my ass and we would have gotten nowhere. So, thank you.”

Soonyoung smiles back as he gives Renjun’s hand a little pat. “I’m sure you would have figured it out eventually. Do you mind if I stay here and watch though?”

“Of course,” Renjun says with a small smile that disappears almost immediately. “Just don’t touch anything.”

“And here I thought you were warming up to me.”

“In your dreams, human."

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

Soonyoung doesn’t know how long they spend working on the board, or, well, how long Renjun spends working on the board but they get it done without any more difficulties. Unfortunately, just as Renjun is inserting the board back into the light speed pillar they are interrupted by a very familiar and not so pleasant voice, which has them both wincing reflexively. 

“What,” the voice begins, already laced with disdain. “Is he doing here?”

Beside him, Renjun grimaces slightly but doesn’t answer until he has the board safely inserted into the light-speed drive and the pillar immediately starts to glow again, the swirls casting strange shadows across both of them. Standing up from his position, Renjun turns towards the voice.

“The Commander ordered him to come with me, sir.”

Soonyoung sighs internally, already not liking how this conversation is going to play out. He rises and turns towards the voice too, completely unsurprised to find a scowling Jun staring back at him.

“Hello, Jun,” he greets, lips pulled back into a half-smile. “What a not-so-nice surprise.”

Jun’s scowl only deepens as he looks between the two of them. “Why are you here, Soonyoung? And don’t say you wanted to help because I won’t believe it.”

Renjun opens his mouth to speak but Soonyoung holds a hand up to stop him before casually crossing his arms across his chest. “Fine, you caught me,” he answers with a grin. “I just wanted to get access to your engine room because, obviously, a damaged light speed drive isn’t enough and I needed to sabotage this mission more.”

“Oh for fucks sake, will you shut up?” Renjun hisses, ears colouring pink when Jun shoots him a disapproving look for his colourful choice of words. “If I may, sir, Soonyoung actually did help me with the light speed drive. It was his idea to adapt another board to be used by the drive, sir.”

Jun narrows his eyes at Soonyoung and Soonyoung almost wants to hit him. “Really?”

“Yes, sir.” Renjun nods and Soonyoung feels a surge of affection for this baby Astartian. “And it works too.” He gestures to the light-speed drive behind him.

Jun hums, gaze drifting over them once more as though searching for any signs that might prove otherwise. When he finds none, Jun can only sigh before he addresses them once more.

“Fine.” He turns to Soonyoung then. “For your sake, it better stay working.”

Soonyoung laughs at that, taking a step closer to Jun. “It’s Renjun that worked on it. Are you doubting the skill of your own engineer, Jun? That isn’t very nice of you.”

Jun looks about two seconds from throwing the first punch when Renjun steps smoothly in between them, deftly shoving Soonyoung back a couple of steps. “I’m sure that’s not what you meant, sir,” he says. “In any case, now that the drive is fixed, I will be escorting Soonyoung back to the command deck.”

Jun shoots him one final death glare before he glances down at Renjun and Soonyoung watches in fascination as his expression immediately changes to something Soonyoung would almost dare to call fond. If fond was an expression Jun was capable of, of course.

He gives Renjun’s shoulder a squeeze. “I’m sure you did a good job, Lieutenant. But you know I will need a full report on everything you’ve done when you come back down.”

Renjun nods. “Yes, sir.” He glances back at Soonyoung. “If I may?”

“Yes, yes. Dismissed.” Jun waves them off without another glance at Soonyoung and he can almost feel the relief coming off Renjun in waves when he steers them towards the exit.

They remain silent as they walk back through the winding hallways (Soonyoung still relying on Renjun to guide him, of course) until they get back to the elevator.

“I’m sorry about my Captain,” Renjun says quietly as the doors to the elevators shut before them. “I don’t know why he seems to hate you so much.”

“It’s fine,” Soonyoung says, clapping him on the shoulder. “I haven’t made myself very likeable either.”

Renjun manages a laugh at that but it is tinged with a hint of something that Soonyoung can’t seem to place a finger on. “Still. It isn’t like him. And I was with him the whole time you were being interrogated, you were nothing more than slightly irritating.”

Soonyoung gasps in mock offence as they reach the command deck and the elevator doors open. “I am insulted. I strive to be nothing less than a pain in the ass.”

“Well, you seem to be doing a good job when it comes to him,” Renjun says as he leads them out of the elevator. He gestures towards where Jihoon is still seated in the Commander’s chair, attention completely fixed on the scene outside the window as his fingers dance deftly over the glowing orb in front of him. “Go and announce your presence to the Commander General, tell him the drive is fixed. I’ll deal with Ju- the Captain.”

There is still that trace of something in his voice but Renjun shoots him a smile that seems to be genuine enough before he disappears back into the elevator. Soonyoung frowns, he doesn’t know why Jun seems to hate him so much either, or why Renjun seems so troubled by it but it isn’t important, not to him anyway. He’ll let Renjun deal with it like he said he would — Soonyoung is only here for the crystal anyway.

With that thought, he crosses the remainder of the distance between him and Jihoon, making sure his footsteps are loud enough to announce his presence for him so that he doesn’t startle Jihoon into crashing the ship. 

He doesn’t say anything for a while, just stands by the chair as Jihoon pilots the giant ship between rocks ranging from the size of a small pebble to double the size of the entire ship. Jihoon’s fingers are graceful as they shift along the surface of the orb, controlling the movement of the ship with just a small twitch of his finger. Soonyoung watches as Jihoon’s finger traces a small line to the left, light and brief, and the shift manoeuvres itself around the large broken piece of a planet that looms up in front of them. 

He admits that he is amazed at Jihoon’s skill — which would make sense if he has been flying for the last few hundred years — but is still something that deserves credit where credit is due. Especially now as Jihoon moves them just enough that they fit between the two broken halves of some poor planet’s moon. Soonyoung actually holds his breath for that, half-expecting to hear the tell-tale sound of some of the rocks scraping along their shielded exterior.

“Wow,” he breathes, stunned again for the second time that night, which has Jihoon glancing at him quickly before he returns his gaze to the asteroid belt. 

“Soonyoung,” Jihoon replies by way of greeting. “You have returned.”

“Hm?” Soonyoung asks, still slightly distracted by the ship dipping beneath a particularly obnoxious space rock. “Oh. Yeah! We fixed the drive. As well as we could have anyway.”

“And why is Renjun not the one giving me this information?”

“Oh… Uh… One of the other officers. Jun? He uh wasn’t very happy to find me down in the engine room, even though we told him that we were under your explicit instructions,” Soonyoung explains, thinking back to how Jun had practically fumed at the ears seeing him there.

Jihoon frowns at that. Slightly, barely even a twitch of his brow actually, but Soonyoung notices the way his features immediately harden and his lips turn downwards just enough. “He had no reason to be,” Jihoon says, although it seems to be more at himself than to Soonyoung. “Those were my orders.” He sighs slightly before looking up at Soonyoung. “I apologise. Junhui spoke out of turn. I will be having a word with him later.”

Soonyoung can’t help but widen his eyes in surprise at Jihoon’s words and sudden shift in expression. He had never really been bothered by Jun, Junhui’s, hostility anyway especially since he hadn’t been all that friendly to the Astartian either. “You don’t have to. I mean, I haven’t exactly been nice to him either. I just assumed he didn’t like me because I was being a pain in the ass in that interrogation room.”

Jihoon’s lips quirk up at that as he returns his focus back to steering the ship. “You were unnecessarily annoying. But,” he continues, lips curling downwards again. “I think I will have to speak to him anyway.”

Soonyoung can tell that there is probably more going on here than he thinks, especially with the way both Renjun and Jihoon are reacting to this but he figures it is not his place to ask. Instead, he says. “Well, if you do talk to him, please apologise on my behalf too. I haven’t been the greatest person to him and that probably hasn’t helped improve his impression of me.”

Jihoon huffs out a laugh at that, soft, and barely audible but Soonyoung sees it in the way his eyes crinkle. “You are perceptive, Kwon Soonyoung. Probably too much for your own good.” He turns to Soonyoung then, the sparkle in his eyes already fading slightly. “But now that the drive is fixed, there is nothing else for you to do and, unfortunately, I cannot spare any of my officers to keep an eye on you. I, too, will have to remain here to steer us out of the belt.”

Soonyoung frowns. “Do you know how much further we will have to travel to get to the other side?”

Jihoon shakes his head. “There is no way of knowing. It could be a few more minutes and it could be light-years. This belt hasn’t been charted at all and, judging by the broken pieces of other ships we’ve come across, it will continue to remain this way — the planet’s own natural barrier of sorts.”

“And you’re going to be flying this entire time? What if it really takes years to get out of this?”

Jihoon laughs, shooting him an amused glance. “Are you worried about my wellbeing, Soonyoung? Do not worry, there are other Astartians aboard this vessel capable of piloting it. It is just that their specialities lie in other areas that require them at the moment.” His smile disappears in an instant replaced by a frown as he turns towards Soonyoung (after making sure they have a few hundred miles of space before the next obstacle of course). “Now, just because I am saying this doesn’t mean that I trust you, even if you did help us with our light-speed drive. But, I can’t have you remain here for the sole sake of having you watched. I will let you go back to your quarters but you have to promise to remain there until we can spare the manpower to have you under guard once again.”

Soonyoung sighs. It isn’t unexpected, not really and they do have every right to not trust him; he is holding their crystal hostage after all. But that doesn’t mean he has to be happy about this situation either, even if it means that he gets to wash out all the sweat his clothes has accumulated down in their furnace of an engine room. 

“So, you’re telling me I’m a prisoner?”

“No,” Jihoon says, lips curling downwards as he regards Soonyoung. “I am saying, you can get some rest. If it were under any other circumstance, we wouldn’t be doing this but there are too many parts of the ship that has taken damage and while you may be an engineer, you are not knowledgeable enough of our technology to help us in any significant way.”

“Fine,” Soonyoung agrees begrudgingly, noting the way Jihoon finally relaxes when he does. It hits him then that he feels almost bad about this. It is his fault that they are even in this situation; if he hadn’t tried to get something out returning the crystal, maybe none of this would have happened. Sure, he probably wouldn’t have won the next race but, now, they are stuck in what could be a never-ending field of broken planet pieces with no way of knowing whether they’ll be able to make it out in his lifetime let alone make it out in time for them to get back for the next race. Agreeing to Jihoon’s request is probably the least he can do, as unhappy as he is about it. 

He turns to Jihoon, who is still watching him. “I’ll need help though. I won’t know how to get back to my quarters without a guide and I still can’t for the life of me figure out how the hell you get your doors to open… Or dissolve. Or whatever it is you call it.”

Jihoon smiles, a little too knowing for Soonyoung to be completely comfortable with and for a second he is afraid that Jihoon is going to tell him to figure it out himself. But, of course, he doesn’t. Instead, he reaches into a breast pocket Soonyoung hadn’t been aware of at all and pulls out a thin ring of polished white stone, a lot closer to what the crystal looks like than the material the ship is made out of. 

It is a flat band that is so thin Soonyoung can’t help but wonder if it will snap in half if he presses hard enough on it. Jihoon beckons him forward, glancing quickly at the scene outside the window to make sure they’re not about to collide into anything. He holds out a hand, palm up.

“Give me your hand,” he says.

Soonyoung stares at him for a good couple of seconds before his mouth decides to work again. “What?”

Jihoon sighs, exasperated. “Your hand, Soonyoung. Quickly.”

“Oh,” Soonyoung says snapping to attention and placing his hand in Jihoon’s. Jihoon’s fingers wrap around his wrist firmly as he slips the band over his hand, and Soonyoung can’t help but marvel at the coolness of Jihoon’s skin against his, almost as cool as the band that is slowly shrinking to fit his wrist.

He yelps in surprise, pulling his hand out of Jihoon’s as the band secures itself to his wrist. “What is this?” he asks. “Why did it shrink? Will I not be able to get it off?”

Jihoon lets out a small amused snort as Soonyoung starts to panic and tries to pry the bracelet (band?) off his wrist by digging his fingers into the skin. He grabs Soonyoung’s hand to stop him from attempting to claw the bracelet off. “Stop that. It’s not going to hurt you. It’s a remote device, much like your own holo watch. See?” He tugs back his sleeve to reveal his own, except his seems to be a faint shade of violet instead of the milky white of Soonyoung’s. “We all have one. It is used to control most of the features on the ship, including the doors. Yours has been configured to only give you access to your quarters and the common areas but, it does also come with a map, which should be able to guide you to your quarters and the canteen if you are hungry.”

Soonyoung looks down at the band on his wrist in amazement, the colour already starting to change into something closer to a light grey. He touches the band lightly with one finger and a small, white, holographic 3D layout pops up along with a menu that hovers over it asking where he would like directions to. He touches a finger to the band again and the holographic projection disappears. He looks back up at Jihoon.

“This is… Thank you,” he says sincerely and Jihoon smiles, a real one this time, deep enough to reach his eyes, which flash a darker shade of violet. Warmth floods his chest and he smiles back, just as sincerely. “So, do I just… Wave this in front of the doors to open them?”

Jihoon nods. “Only for the doors to the common areas, remember that. I highly advise against testing it out on any other door because you will set off a silent alarm and one of my officers will have to come and check on you.”

“Got it,” Soonyoung says, laughing. “I’ll keep myself out of trouble. No promises that trouble won’t find me though.”

“Then you’ll have to get yourself out of it,” Jihoon scowls but there is no real heat behind it and Soonyoung’s smile widens. 

“Trust me. That’s my speciality.” 

Jihoon can only shake his head as he returns to piloting the ship. “You are dismissed, Kwon Soonyoung.” 

The smile in his voice is hard to miss.

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

Soonyoung spends the majority of the next couple of hours drifting in and out of sleep, once he’d cleaned himself up from his little excursion to the engine room of course. Occasionally, he will sit up in the darkness of his quarters and look out his way, watching as they slip between and around the asteroids that surround them. Some time after that, he is jolted awake again by the jerk of the ship jumping to light speed and although it takes him a while to process what just happened, he nearly cries in relief when he sees the familiar lines of light that make up the light speed slipstream.

They are fine. They will be fine. The asteroid belt hadn’t spanned light years, just a very few uncomfortable hours. He doesn’t know how long it will take them to get to Uruk but he figures he still has at most another day on this ship before they arrive at the tiny smuggler planet. He collapses back onto his pillow, head turned so that he can look out the giant window beside it, and watches as the rays of light streak past against a backdrop of the deepest black. Eventually, it lulls him back into sleep once more.

When he awakens properly, it is because he is hungry and he realises that he had been so exhausted when he’d returned to his quarters that he had completely forgotten to grab some food to eat. Groaning with discomfort, he curls onto his side, still clinging onto the last vestiges of sleep in vain; as hungry as he is, he doesn’t really feel like moving at the moment either. 

He winces when his stomach twinges a little and he curls even more into himself until the discomfort becomes too much for him to bear and he throws himself out of bed. He taps at his holowatch and it tells him that he’s been asleep for a good eight or so hours, which means that the last time he’d eaten had been almost twelve hours ago back on New Titan.

“Fuck,” he moans, clutching at his stomach. “Alright, alright,” he mutters to himself as he putters around the room trying to shove himself into clean pieces of clothing in the near darkness, too lazy to turn on the lights. He grabs what he hopes is his simple black tee and jeans from one of the overnight bags deposited near his bed before he forces himself out of the room and, hopefully, in the direction of some food.

He presses a finger to the band around his wrist to bring up the map to the canteen, which hovers like little wisps of light over his wrist. He follows the direction down identical hallway after identical hallway, noting the sheer lack of Astartian presence in them. Strange. Although, he figures that the crew do have to sleep some time and what better time than when they’re cruising at light speed. He hopes this means that the canteen will be empty too because he is really not ready to deal with the overwhelming onslaught of Astartian attention.

Thankfully, his assumptions prove correct when he enters the canteen, the light dot on his map beeping twice before going out. The room itself is much like the rest of the ship — large, white, cavernous — except that the smell of food hangs in the air despite the current lack of activity. 

He presses his fingers to the band and the holographic rendition of the ship fizzles out. Taking another step, he studies the room — circular, white tables line the edges of the room, most of which are surrounded by four seats except a few larger ones at the far end. The far end is where the food rests, a far more generous offering than the food generally served in the New Titan military canteens — there are large platters of varying dishes, from meats to soups it is almost overwhelming. Of course, being alien, Soonyoung doesn’t know what half of these dishes are but right now, he is too hungry to care.

He strolls over to the food and grabs a plate from one of the ends. Carefully, he picks his way through the dishes — carefully avoiding the more questionable-looking ones while choosing the dishes that resemble human food as much possible. In the end, he ends up with a heaping pile of what he hopes is some kind of roast meat, some greens, and some dry pastry-like thing that looks like a strange combination of flaked pastry and bread.

When he is done, he looks around the canteen, at the painfully empty and silent hall, and decides that he would rather not be sitting by himself in this large, giant room. Shifting the plate to his left hand, he restarts his wristband’s navigation system, careful to not spill any of the food on the floor that looks way too clean to belong to a food hall.

He dutifully follows the navigation back to his quarters, picking at bits of the pastry-bread-thing along the way. It is actually delicious — a savoury mix of flavours that have Soonyoung immediately salivating around the few pieces he’d popped into his mouth along the way. He is so caught up with the food that he almost doesn’t notice the figures standing in the hallway he had just turned into until it is too late.

As it is, he happens to look up just as he rounds the corner and he nearly drops his food in his attempt to go back around it. He backs up carefully around the corner, squinting as he tries to confirm that they are who he thinks they are.

When he does his jaw drops and he has to stifle a gasp while he tries really hard to not drop his plate in surprise because standing in the hallway are Jihoon and Jun. He peeps around the corner stealthily and exhales in relief when he realises that he is standing out of their direct line of sight. Still, he remains as silent and as motionless as possible because there is just something about the way the two of them are standing, barely and hands breadth apart that makes Soonyoung feel like he’ll be intruding if he steps out into the hallway.

He watches as Jun smiles down at Jihoon, whispering something before he reaches up to brush the hair back from Jihoon’s face. From his angle, he can’t really see much of Jihoon’s expression but he assumes Jihoon is smiling back up at him, or something equally as soft because he immediately steps right into Jun’s space and into his arms. Jihoon buries his face in Jun’s chest and Jun’s smile morphs into something different, something more poignant, almost sad even, as he bends down to press his lips into the crown of Jihoon’s head.

Something stirs in Soonyoung’s chest and he pulls himself back, collapsing against the wall until he is sure that he hears footsteps heading away from him. He gives it a few more minutes, just to be safe before he steps back out into the hallway. Empty this time, no sign that he had just seen the Astartian Commander General and one of his officers having what could only be an intimate moment in the middle of the hallway. 

For a second, he is stuck wondering why they would be here, in the hallway right outside the officers’ quarters when he remembers Renjun mentioning that Jihoon’s rooms are nearby as well. The thing in his chest stirs again but he quashes it down, burying it deep until he almost convinces himself that it was never there in the first place.

He walks back to his room and collapses on his bed, plate in hand when he realises that he is no longer hungry. He looks sadly at the pile of food, knowing that he should at least try to get some of it in him if he doesn’t want to pass out while they are on the planet. But when he finally takes a full bite of his food, he tastes bitter in his mouth and decides that he wants nothing more to do with it.

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

They arrive at the planet another twelve hours later. Thankfully, Soonyoung manages to get the food into him at some point, along with a couple extra hours of sleep before he is roused by a knocking on the door, which surprises him more than the visit if he’s being honest with himself. 

He pulls the same black tee and jeans back on, tries to straighten his hair so that he doesn’t look too much like the scruffy they already think he is before grabbing his usual weapons. He attaches the belt carrying his crossbow and bolt bags to his hips before strapping his knives to his thighs. He briefly wonders if he should have asked Wonwoo to pack one of his guns but he knows that he will be reaching for his crossbow before his gun in a fight any day. He just hopes they will be as effective where they’re going.

Checking that he has everything one last time, he steps out of his room only to be greeted by a very unimpressed look Junhui, who gives a slow once-over before greeting him with a very begrudging ‘good morning’. Soonyoung responds with a very pointed look because if he’d had the time to get nice and cuddly with Jihoon the night before then he should have no reason to be looking as sour as he does. 

He gestures for Jun to lead the way, which he only does after giving Soonyoung a very disdainful sniff and Soonyoung already knows that he is in for a long day. Silently, he hopes that Jun will not be part of the team that goes down with them because he doesn’t think he can handle dealing with him questioning Soonyoung’s decisions when they are on the ground.

They are halfway to the command deck when Jun looks over at him, something that isn’t exactly hatred in his eyes. “You’re looking quite the part aren’t you?”

Soonyoung looks down at himself and then back up at Jun. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Junhui starts. “You’re looking very much like any other smuggler. I can’t help but wonder if you’re dressing up for this mission or if you just look like a dirty thief all the time.”

“What?!” Soonyoung feels the blood rush to his face and he grabs Jun and shoves him to the side of the hallway, manhandling him until they are facing each other. “Listen. I don’t know what your problem is, or why you hate me so much, and I don’t really care if you do but can you fucking lay off me? What the fuck have could I have done to make you hate me so much?”

Jun glares at him and Soonyoung knows that he’s pissed him off with the way his skin has started to tinge a little pink and his eyes seem to burn silver. “You’re manipulating Jihoon. You’re nothing but a greedy, little thief who doesn’t know how to quit when he is ahead and now you’ve convinced him to visit this dangerous planet, for your sake, so that you can get ahead in your stupid races.”

“Jihoon, huh?” Soonyoung sneers. “You seem to be awfully friendly with your Commander General, Jun. Maybe a bit too friendly?”

“So what if I am?” Jun snaps, eyes flashing dangerously. “Jihoon means more to me than you will ever understand and you are placing him in a situation that could get him killed. So forgive me if I’m not welcoming you with open arms. The fate of our entire planet is at stake but you’re too busy thinking about yourself to even realise that.”

Soonyoung feels like it would have hurt less if Jun had slapped him in the face with his ridiculous Astartian strength because there is nothing but truth to what Jun had said. Soonyoung had been selfish, he had only cared about what he wanted and how he was going to get, hadn’t even thought what it would mean for the Astartians, a peace-loving race that rarely ventured far from their solar system let alone to the other side of the galaxy. All for him. All because he hadn’t wanted to lose the headway he’d made on something that could possibly guarantee him a first place win. Fuck.

He looks up at Jun who is still watching him, although the fire in his eyes seems to have died down slightly. “I’m sorry,” he says finally. “I was desperate when I cut the deal with Jihoon. I was desperate and I wasn’t thinking, didn’t even stop to consider what it would mean for you all to make a journey like this. It really was selfish of me.”

Jun regards him slowly and Soonyoung can tell that Jun doesn’t really believe him yet but something in him relaxes slightly. “Glad you know. I just hope you remember that when you are down on the planet and Jihoon is trying to buy you a crystal that could possibly cost him his life.”

“I won’t let that happen,” Soonyoung says, clenching his fist. “I promise.”

Jun shoots him a hard look and Soonyoung has to resist the urge to take a step away from him. “You better. He is trusting you to guide him down there.”

“I know,” Soonyoung answers, looking away, the weight of his responsibility in the upcoming mission suddenly weighing down on him. “I’ll… I’ll do my best.”

“Good. Now come on, Jihoon and the rest of the team are waiting.” 

Soonyoung follows him in silence, the words Jun had said weighing on his heart like a stone and he promises himself that, whatever happens, he will bring them back alive. He has to. Wonwoo will never forgive him if he died out here.

He looks at Jun out of the corner of his eye when they stop to wait for the elevator. “So, you and Jihoon, huh?”

Jun doesn’t answer for a moment and Soonyoung thinks that’s the only response he is going to get but he receives a scathing look when they finally step in the elevator and the door closes behind them. “Jihoon and I have known each other for over half a millennium. I don’t know what you think we are but he is one of my dearest friends and I will sooner die than see him hurt.” He looks at Soonyoung again and there is something like pity in his eyes before he adds, a lot softer than before. “I don’t think you can even comprehend the bond we have.”

Soonyoung thinks of Wonwoo then, even though their two decades is nothing compared to the centuries Jun and Jihoon have spent with each, he thinks he knows what Jun is talking about. He would gladly take a bullet for Wonwoo, after all. His attention is brought back to the doors of the elevator opening but he knows Jun is still listening when he responds with a quiet, “Yeah, I think I do.”

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

The command deck is a flurry of activity when they arrive, much like the first time he’d been brought there — there are Astartians running about on the deck, keying in things into the different panels, handing out bags and little devices to the group of Astartians gathered in the middle around the Commander’s chair. Jihoon is there, not seated, as he talks to the Astartians in their native language. 

He turns to them when they approach and gives them a small tight-lipped smile. Soonyoung can see the tension in his entire body, the muscles in his neck and arms pulled taut that it is noticeable even to him. He is brought back to the conversation with Jun and is immediately flooded with guilt for putting him, them, in this situation.

Jihoon gestures to the giant window. They are hovering in orbit over Uruk, a smaller planet much like Drega had been, except this one is a sinister-looking red and black from where they are in space.

“The surface is littered with volcanoes and the air is thick with ash most times of its year. Even now.” Jihoon says, answering the question in Soonyoung’s expression. “The markets, however, are still above ground. Either in settlements built in pockets of clean air or run by the native alien race, a species that has long since been able to filter the ash from their system.”

Soonyoung looks at him. “How do you know this?”

“We did a preliminary scan of the surface just as we arrived in orbit, including the life forms present. It is going to be hot and incredibly dirty down there.”

Soonyoung takes a look around at who he assumes will be accompanying him and Jihoon down to the surface, takes in their spotless uniforms, a white so pure that he is sure they will positively blinding under sunlight, and knows without any shred of doubt that the minute they step off the pod that takes them down there, all eyes will be on them. And not in a good way. 

He briefly contemplates the feasibility of shoving the team in a pile of ash the minute they get down there but it will be no use. The people they will be meeting will know, immediately, that they do not belong and Soonyoung can only hope that their wealth will be enough to convince them to sell the crystal because the alternative will not be as pleasant.

｡ﾟ•┈୨ 🪐୧┈•ﾟ｡

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and, as always, kudos and comments are very much appreciated 💕

**Author's Note:**

> If you're here, I just want to say thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed it in any way, I'd love to hear your thoughts and speculations so feel free to leave them in the comments or in my cc 💞
> 
> Find me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/moonfleur_) or [curious cat](http://curiouscat.me/moonfleur_) ♥︎


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